PESHAWAR: The U.S. government is partnering with the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to strengthen transparency and accuracy in the land records and registration system and to promote economic growth and investment in the seven subdivisions of the Newly Merged Districts.
At a ceremony in Peshawar attended by Ambassador Blome on Thursday 13 July, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) provided $5 million worth of equipment to the KP Board of Revenue, augmenting its capacity for accurate land measurements. The United States also announced a new partnership to empower the Ombudsperson Secretariat by providing training to Ombudsperson staff on women’s rights and land settlement regulations. This initiative aims to raise awareness about the Ombudsperson’s crucial role in safeguarding women’s rights to property and inheritance.
“With the support of USAID, the Board of Revenue of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is entirely digitizing the land records system in the seven subdivisions of the Newly Merged Districts…Land record management will be revolutionized, benefiting the people of the Merged Areas by significantly increasing efficiency, accuracy, and convenience,” said Ikramullah Khan, Senior Member of the Board of Revenue.
While in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ambassador Blome also joined Inspector General Akhtar Hayat and KP Police Officers in an inauguration ceremony of the recently completed $17.2 million Joint Police Training Center in Nowshera. The inauguration marks the end of the 12-year project funded by the U.S. Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).
The center is the largest construction project ever completed by INL in Pakistan. Implemented by the UN Development Program (UNDP), the completion of this project has enabled the training center to increase its training capacity to 1,700 personnel at one time. The project constructed 75 buildings, including academic buildings, a health unit, men’s and women’s hostels, and a multi-purpose hall. Ambassador Blome and IG Hayat also signed an agreement to deliver $3 million in life-saving armored vehicles, bulletproof vests, and helmets to the KP Police.
At the event, Ambassador Blome stated, “This investment will have a lasting positive impact. The strengthening of law enforcement presence and the writ of government in remote and under-governed areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will lead to increased security and prosperity.”
For more information on USAID’s assistance programs in Pakistan, please click on https://www.usaid.gov/pakistan. For more information on INL, please click on http://www.state.gov/j/inl
