ISLAMABAD, Mar 01 (NNI): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has launched Ramazan Relief Package 2025 worth Rs20 billion to provide relief to deserving families in the holy month of fasting, starting tomorrow.
Addressing the launching ceremony in Islamabad on Saturday, PM Shehbaz Sharif said Rs5,000 will be provided to every deserving family under the package, adding discount will also be provided on various items at the Utility Stores.
The prime minister maintained that the cash assistance will be distributed among the families through a digital system, adding transparency will be ensured at all costs and which would be distributed in the first ten days of Ramazan.
He said that the package which was worth Rs7 billion last year, was now worth Rs20 billion, adding four million families and 20 million people would be benefitted from the package.
He said that this time it would be ensured that amounts were distributed among the needy in a transparent manner. “Under the package, money will be distributed in the country’s four provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB),” he informed.
He also said that this time people would not have to make lines to receive the amounts.
Condemning the death of Maulana Hamidul Haq in a suicide bombing at Akorra Khattak in Nowshera on Friday, the prime minister reiterated the resolve to eradicate terrorism.
He demanded the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government to take steps to bring the perpetrators of the heinous act to justice. “In the past too, the PML-N government faced terrorism courageously. As many as 80,000 Pakistanis laid down their lives in the fight against terrorism,” PM Shehbaz said, adding, “Everybody knows who is responsible for the present wave of attacks on security forces’ personnel and innocent civilians.”
The prime minister also claimed that compared with last year, there was no inflation in the country now.
Each family through digital wallets would get Rs5,000, he said, expressing his satisfaction that the price hike had been reduced this year when compared with the previous figures during the holy month of Ramazan. “This year, an amount of Rs20 billion has been allocated for the purpose. The relief amount last year was Rs7 billion,” he added.
He also lauded all the relevant authorities and institutions including ministries, State Bank of Pakistan, NADRA, BISP and tech companies who worked day and night to devise a digital mechanism. The federal government’s initiative would benefit all parts of the country through a well-devised digital system, he added.
Shehbaz also expressed his gratitude to the foreign partners for their partnership and support in this noble cause and appreciated their commitment and valuable contributions. He said billions of rupees of the poor nation had been stuck up in litigation for years and expressed the resolve of the government to get expeditious decisions over Rs500 billion cases pending for adjudication in various courts.
He said corruption was being dealt with iron hands. During their previous interim government’s tenure, the banks had made windfall profits over fluctuation of dollar rates and got stay orders from the court when the government introduced a legislation in this regard.
Referring to a decision of the recent Sindh High Court, he said Rs23 billion were recovered from the disposal of a stay case.
The prime minister termed the corruption in the Utility Stores Corporation as ‘worst one’ and said that it was being privatized, ending public agonies with a very proactive digital system like the one just launched. He also reiterated to close down other government’s entities running into losses.
Shehbaz expressed his deep grief over a terrorist attack on Maulana Hamidul Haq at Madrassa Haqqania in which Maulana Haq had embraced martyrdom. He said that Madrassa Haqqania was a renowned centre of Islamic studies, and yesterday’s terrorist incident was heart-wrenching and highly condemnable.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government would immediately bring the perpetrators to book, he said, adding in the year 2018, terrorism was eliminated from the country, and in that fight about 80,000 Pakistanis had laid down their lives, including security forces officers and jawans and all segments of society.
Unfortunately, he said the specter raised its head in the recent times and everyone knew the reasons. With the unmatched sacrifices of the security forces and nation’s support, they would eliminate terrorism forever and would not rest till its complete eradication, the premier added. NNI
