- PM Imran Khan says the PTI govt “is fighting a historic battle to uphold the rule of law”.
- Announces launching the ‘Koi Bhooka Na Soye’ initiative of PTI’s Ehsaas Programme in Peshawar, Lahore, and Faisalabad.
- Free food to be distributed among labourers, daily wagers, and low-income people who may not have access to Panahgahs and Langar Khanas.
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has admitted that there was not enough money left to spend on the people’s development anymore since Pakistan “is indebted”, Geo News reported on Sunday.
Addressing the virtual launch event of the ‘Koi Bhooka Na Soye’ initiative of the ruling PTI’s flagship Ehsaas Programme in three cities of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), PM Imran said the PTI government “is fighting a historic battle to uphold the rule of law”.
The chief ministers of Punjab and KP — Usman Buzdar and Mahmood Khan, respectively — were also present at the virtual event held simultaneously in Islamabad, Faisalabad, Lahore, and Peshawar.
The ‘Ehsaas Koi Bhooka Na Soye Programme’ — to be launched in Peshawar, Lahore, and Faisalabad — would distribute free food through mobile kitchens among labourers, daily wagers, and low-income people who may not be able to afford access to Panahgahs and Langar Khanas.
Pakistan blessed if ‘state feeds the poor’
The premier said the programme would benefit the deserving and less privileged classes. A network of mobile kitchens would be set up all over Pakistan to provide food to the hungry people, he added.
He also underlined that Pakistan — one of the few countries where people give huge amounts of charity — would be blessed when “the state feeds the poor”.
However, Pakistan, which remained “indebted”, had “less money left to spend on the development of the people”, he added.
PM Imran said Pakistan was made in the name of Islam, which rose as a new civilisation in a very short time and the Riyasat-e-Madina — or the welfare state of Medina under Islamic law — established itself as a model for rule of law and service to humanity.
“God showers His blessings on those who feed the hungry and take care of the poor people,” he said.
Panahgahs and Langar Khanas, or shelter homes and alms-house, respectively, were run by the PTI regime in partnership with the private sector.
Under the ‘Ehsaas Koi Bhooka Na Soye Programme’ initiative, four trucks in each city would distribute food among 500-1,000 people every day at specific service points.
‘Network of these facilities’
The premier explained that when he planned to set up the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centres (SKMCH&RC), even the doctors told him it was difficult to run the facility.
Now, however, the hospital gives free treatment to 70% of the cancer patients, he added. “We fulfilled the promise with the people and gave free treatment to cancer patients and arranged for their food and accommodation,” he said.
PM Imran mentioned that he first established the SKMCH&RC in Lahore with Rs700 million, with the cancer hospital having spent Rs50 billion on the treatment of people until now. The second one, he added, was built in Peshawar and a third would be constructed in Karachi.
People gave money for the construction of all three hospitals, he said, adding that the same would now make the ‘Ehsaas Koi Bhooka Na Soye Programme’ successful. “There will be a network of these facilities across Pakistan,” he added.
The prime minister underlined how, for the first time in the history of Pakistan, Panahgahs were set up for labourers who came from other cities and did not have a place to spend night. They also get food at these facilities and send the money they save to their families back home, he added.
The network of Panahgahs would also be expanded, he assured.
Give Zakat, donations to Ehsaas programmes
PM Imran also spoke of how universal health insurance would be provided to all the people in Punjab and KP. Each citizen would enjoy an insurance worth Rs1 million to spend on their medical needs.
In the next phase, on the other hand, the network of hospitals would be expanded and further reforms undertaken in the health sector.
The PM lauded CMs Buzdar and Khan, Saylani Welfare International Trust (SWIT), as well as his aide on poverty alleviation and social protection, Senator Dr Sania Nishtar, for successfully running the Ehsaas programme’s different components, arranging finances, and ensuring transparency.
People should give Zakat and donations in the holy month of Ramadan to different Ehsaas programmes, he urged.
Programme expansion by end of 2021
Initially, PM Imran Khan had launched the ‘Ehsaas Koi Bhooka Na Soye Programme’ in Rawalpindi and Islamabad on March 10 — both of which have so far served food to more than 38,000 people through the mobile kitchens.
The ‘Ehsaas Koi Bhooka Na Soye Programme’ was part of the prime minister’s vision for 2021. By the year end, it would be further expanded to different parts of Pakistan.
According to him, the programme would ensure that nobody went to sleep at night on an empty stomach.
Dr Nishtar, the aide, briefed the participants about different aspects of the Ehsaas programme. A bank account number would be announced Monday to allow philanthropists to deposit their charity funds.
PM Imran meets Saylani Trust delegation
Separately, an SWIT delegation — comprising Maulana Bashir Farooq Qadri, Afzal Chamdia, Manzar Alam, and Farrukh Amin — called on PM Imran Khan today for a meeting also attended by PTI lawmaker Farrukh Habib.
The SWIT welcomed PM Imran Khan’s move, a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office read. It offered to extend the scope of the programme to different cities, it added.
“The Prime Minister appreciated the SWIT’s role in the Ehsaas Langar Khanas ‘Koi Bhooka Na Soye’ Programme,” it noted.
“The Prime Minister assured that all possible facilities would be provided to expand the programme,” the Prime Minister’s Office wrote on Twitter.
