A GROUP of councillors will travel to Pakistan next month to help set up a new centre for disabled people.

The politicians will officially lay the foundations for a facility to serve people with learning and physical disabilities in Mirpur.

When they return they will begin a fundraising drive for cash to complete it.

The original members of the Asian community in Keighley came from Mirpur, in the Kashmir region of Pakistan, and many still have strong family links with the area.

The intention is that the centre will support people with physical or learning disabilities, providing equipment and medical treatment.

Cllr Adid Hussain, who represents Keighley Central ward on Bradford Council, is leading the delegation, which sets off for Pakistan on February 1.

He is a founder of Keighley’s International Welfare Foundation, a charity which supports good causes in Kashmir and is spearheading the disability centre project.

Members of the delegation also include fellow Keighley Central councillor and former Lord Mayor of Bradford Khadim Hussain, other local councillors and community volunteers. During their visit they will meet the prime minister of Kashmir.

The disability centre has grown out of efforts by Cllr Khadim Hussain and Bradford Disability Sports and Leisure – the beneficiary of his Lord Mayor’s Appeal – to build sporting links between Bradford and Mirpur.

The planned centre will have sports facilities, as well as providing medical help and equipment such as wheelchairs and crutches.

Cllr Abid Hussain said: “There are a lot of people with disabilities and they don’t get as much help as they do in England.”