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Pak expatriates

Gulf war losses:

early payment

expected

DUBAI: The original documents of the nearly 60 million dollar claims by Pakistan nationals displaced as a result of the Persian Gulf War have been supplied two weeks ago to the United Nations on its request by the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF).

A total of 9,614 cases of displaced Pakistanis were referred by the OPF to the UN which had appreciated its fast and accurate compilation of the documents related to the cases.

"All the cases were accepted by the UN and now payment of the claims by Iraq is awaited," said OPF Managing Director Shahid Mahmood Nawaz in an interview with the Khaleej Times on Sunday.

He said that only a few Pakistanis had been paid their claims immediately after the war was over." Now that the UN has asked for the original papers, we expect that payment would be made soon, though it is linked with the full or partial lifting of UN sanctions against Iraq," he added.

ADVISORY BOARD

He said the OPF has decided to set up an eleven-member advisory board by the end of this year, made up of overseas Pakistanis from North America, Middle East, Africa, Far East, Australia and New Zealand.

The OPF has just signed an understading with the Allied Bank of Pakistan to disburse a World Bank credit to overseas Pakistanis setting up small industrial units in the country. Investors will be eligible to a maximum loan worth Rs 20 million under the scheme.

The investors will have to submit a project feasibility to the OPF which would taken a decision, within 30 days, about the viability of the project.

He said that for larger projects, the OPF was ready to enter into a joint venture with the investor on 50 percent equity participation.-PPi