7b afs distributed to 650,000 widows, orphans, disables this year

MAZAR-I-SHARIF (Pajhwok): More than seven billion afghanis were distributed among about 650,000 widows, orphans and disabled people nationwide this year, an official said on Sunday.

Acting Minister of Martyrs and Disabled Affairs Mullah Abdul Majid Akhund traveled to northern Balkh province to meet families of martyrs on Saturday.

“We met ten families whose children sacrificed themselves in the past 20 years and families that lost two or three members during Jihad in Balkh,” he added.

According to Akhund, the Ministry of Finance allocated 12 billion afghanis to the MoMDA this year and 7 billion afghanis have been distributed to 650,000 widows, orphans and disabled people so far.

The remaining budget will be distributed by the end of this year. “The IEA gives the same rights to families of martyrs and who lost their family members in the war,” he explained.

The ministry has registered 650,000 widows, orphans and disabled people, but other people who were deprived of their rights due to lack of budget will be registered and given their rights in the future, he added.

Meanwhile, Balkh Martyrs and Disabled Director Jan Mohammad Hekmat said 8,500 widows, orphans and disabled were registered and they were distributed 175 million afghani salaries via banking system in the province.

Meanwhile, MoMDA distributed 15 billion afghanis as stipends to 612,000 widows, orphans and disabled people last year, but this year’s budget showed more than three billion afghanis cut.

hz/ma