Karachi, February 16, 2010: In a ceremony today, the United States launched a program to provide $10 million (Rs. 840 million) in cash grants to Bolton Market traders who lost their businesses in the fire that followed city-wide riots in December 2009.

The assistance provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development augments $41.6 million (Rs. 3.5 billion) in relief already provided the traders by the federal and Sindh provincial governments through the Karachi Chamber of Commerce. The government assistance reimbursed the traders for loss of inventory and infrastructure; this U.S. assistance will compensate the business for lost revenues since the fire.

"Entrepreneurs in Bolton Market have suffered as a result of the destruction, but so has the economic chain of vendors, suppliers and service providers that depend on these businesses," Stephen Fakan, U.S. Consul General for Karachi said at the ceremony. "Getting these enterprises back on their feet will ultimately benefit millions of Pakistanis."

Mr. Fakan praised the Pakistani and Sindh governments for their quick response to the disaster, in which a terrorist attack on an Ashura mourning procession sparked rioting that ended in the destruction of the market. The U.S. program, assembled in one month, will support restoration of a key commercial center in Karachi.

The ceremony was presided over by Sindh Minister for Industries and Commerce Rauf Siddiqui and Naib Nazim Ms. Nasreen Jalil. Also present were the president and executive committee members of the American Business Council, President, Khushhali Bank, and other U.S. and Pakistani officials.