ETPB restructuring approved
By Asad Cheema

ISLAMABAD—Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Wednesday approved the restructuring of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) and called for more professional and efficient management of religious sites. The Prime Minister during a presentation by Chairman ETPB, Lt. Gen. (Retd) Zulfiqar Ali Khan at the PM House, hoped that the restructuring plan would lead to professional management of the assets. He directed the Board to ensure proper management of religious sites of the Sikhs and Hindus throughout the country and directed that all necessary facilities be extended to the pilgrims. Pakistan has some of the very important religious sites of minorities and it is the duty of the Board to ensure excellent management, he said. The Prime Minister instructed that real estate management be made more professional and transparent, adding that unmanageable assets be disposed off. He called for inducting people from the private sector into the Board for this purpose and added that the evacuee properties were a national asset and the board was their custodian.
The Prime Minister directed the Board to explore possibility of constructing a hotel around Taxila or Hassanabdal to provide better lodging to Sikh and Buddhist pilgrims. He said it would also help promote religious tourism. He also stressed the need for having a complete database of all the evacuee properties in the country. The Prime Minister appreciated the contribution by members of minorities towards the relief of earthquake affectees. The meeting was attended, among others, by minister for Religious Affairs Ejazul Haq, Secretary Ministry of Law and Justice and Secretary Establishment Division.