KEIGHLEY councillors will next month travel to Pakistan 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 to Keighley they will begin a massive fundraising drive amongst local people for cash to build the centre.

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

The intention is that the new centre in the area called New Mirpur City will support people with physical or learning disabilities, providing equipment, medical treatment and sports facilities.

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 are expected to meet the Prime Minister of Kashmir.

Cllr Abid Hussain said: “We have to buy land and build the centre for people with disabilities. It needs to be somewhere very close to the city so they can come from surrounding villages.

“There are a lot of people with disabilities and they don’t get as much help as they do in England. We will set this up for people who need medical help, and equipment such as crutches and wheelchairs.”

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 last year – to build sporting links between Bradford and Mirpur.

These efforts were prompted by a conversation in 2012 between Cllr Hussain and members of the Pakistan Paralympics team, who said they had very little facilities or funding for training in their home country.

Cllr Hussain said: “They could only come to England due to sponsorship from business people.

“It’s a major issue in Mirpur. There is no disability centre, no facilities for disabled people to train athletes.

“Bradford Disability Sports and Leisure will try to get some more funding in place. We will work internationally to promote the involvement of disabled people in sport.”