Peshawar, September 19, 2022 – The U.S. Mission in Pakistan and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Planning and Development Department celebrated the successful completion of Area Development Projects worth $6.4 million that benefited more than 44,000 families from the Bajaur, Khyber, Mohmand and Torghar districts. U.S. Embassy Islamabad Director of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) Lori Antolinez and Director General of SDU/Planning & Development Department Suhail Khan attended the completion ceremony.
With U.S. financial assistance, the KP government built 29 kilometers of roads, 59 irrigation channels, and 55 drinking water supply projects from 2019 to 2022. The Area Development Projects provided farmers with seeds and agriculture trainings, allowing for the cultivation of more than 5,000 acres of land with high value crops and providing alternative livelihoods to illicit poppy seed production.
Director General SDU/P&D Khan said, with the support of the U.S. government, these projects are impacting people’s lives in real ways – by building roads that enable economic and educational opportunities, providing stable access to drinking water, bolstering family incomes, and improving the local economy.
During a ceremony in Islamabad, INL Director Antolinez recognized the longstanding partnership between the U.S. and KP governments to curb illegal crop production in the province. “This $6.4 million investment, in partnership with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, will promote prosperity, stability, and economic opportunity in Mohmand, Bajaur, Khyber and Torghar districts,” Antolinez said.
As we celebrate 75 years of bilateral relations between Pakistan and the United States, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs is marking the 40-year anniversary of partnership in Pakistan to advance justice, security, and prosperity. Over the past four decades, the U.S. government, through INL, has invested more than $1 billion dollars to improve citizen security and enhance law enforcement capacity across Pakistan. INL works in more than 90 countries to help combat crime and corruption, counter the narcotics trade, improve police institutions, and promote court systems that are fair and accountable. To find out more about INL, visit: http://www.state.gov/j/inl
