ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Imran Khan said Sunday that his government was taking all steps to ensure rule of law in the country so that uniform system of law should be applied to the weaker and powerful segments of society alike.

He was taking to Mufti Raheem, Mohtamim of Jammia Rahimiya Karachi who called on him, says a press release issued by PM’s Office on Sunday. The prime minister observed that a system of reward and punishment in the offices could bring improvement in the system.

“It is a priority of the government to strengthen rule of law by correcting the system which had facilitated the corrupt elements,” the press release quoted the prime minister as saying.

Governor Sindh Imran Ismail, leader of opposition in Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Shaikh, Rafi ud Din, Zubair Moti, Col. (retd) Abdul Mughani and Kahlil ur Rehman Molakhail, were also present. During the meeting, prime minister’s vision of state of Madina and increase in foreign investment due to government’s business friendly policies were also discussed.

Meals-on-wheels kitchens

Also, Prime Minister Imran Khan Sunday announced to expand “Ehsaas Koi Bhooka na Soye Programme” to three cities of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including Peshawar, Lahore and Faisalabad.

Under the programme, free food will be distributed through mobile kitchens among labourers, daily wage earners and low income people who could not afford to have access to Panahgaahs and Langarkhanas run by government in partnership with the private sector.

In a virtual event held in Islamabad, Faisalabad, Lahore and Peshawar simultaneously, the prime minister along with chief minister Punjab Usman Buzdar and chief minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan started distribution of food among people through kitchens on trucks in the three cities.

In his remarks, the prime minister said Pakistan was made in the name of Islam which rose as a new civilization in a very short time and the Riyasat e Madina established itself as a model for rule of law and service to humanity. He said the blessings of Allah showered on those who feed the hungry and take care of the poor people.

Pakistan was among the top countries whose people give immense amount of charity, he noted.

He said when he planned to set up Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital, he was told even by doctors that it was difficult to run the cancer hospital. Now the hospital was giving free treatment to 70 percent of 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 told that first he established the cancer hospital in Lahore with Rs 700 million and uptil now it had already spent Rs 50 billion on treatment of people. The second cancer hospital was built in Peshawar and third will be constructed in Karachi.

People of Pakistan gave money for the construction of the three hospitals, he said adding same people will make the Koi Bhooka Na Soye Programme successful and there will be a network of these facilities across the country.

Imran Khan said for the first time in the history of Pakistan, Panahgaahs 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 Panahgaahs and save money to send it to their families back home. The network of Panahgaahs will also be expanded, he assured.

 

PM Imran Khan also said that only little money is left with the government to spend on the poor because of huge debt. He said the economic situation of the country is very tough due to high debts.

 

He said universal health insurance will be given to the whole population in the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A citizen will have insurance of Rs one million to spend on his medical needs.

In the next phase, the network of hospitals will be expanded and further reforms will be undertaken in the health sector, he informed.

He lauded chief ministers of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Senator Sania Nishter and Saylani Trust for successfully running the different components of the Ehsaas programme, for arranging finances and ensuring transparency.

He urged people to give Zakat and donations in the month of Ramzan for different Ehsaas programmes.

Under the new food programme, four trucks in each city will distribute food among 500 to 1000 people every day at specific service points.

Initially, the prime minister launched the Koi Bhooka na Soye Programme in Rawalpindi and Islamabad on March 10. So far mobile kitchens had served food to more than 38000 people. The food was being prepared on the truck kitchens equipped with all the cooking utensils.

The Koi Bhooka na Soye Programme was part of vision of the prime minister for the year 2021.

According to the prime minister, the programme will ensure that nobody goes hungry.

By the year end, the programme will be further expanded to different parts of the country.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection Senator Sania Nishter briefed the participants about different aspects of the Ehsaas programme.

She said on Monday a bank account number will be announced so that philanthropists could deposit their charity amount in it.

 

PM decides to revisit 155,000 complaints

 

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday decided to revisit 55,000 complaints from citizens registered from July 2020 to December 2020 at the Prime Minister’s Citizens Portal.

 

The complaints will be reopened in a phased manner, says a press release of Prime Minister’s Performance Delivery Unit. According to the Prime Minister Office, senior officers in the government will have another look at the complaints.

 

During the reviewing of the complaints, contact with the relevant citizen and the competent authority in the case will be made. In the first phase, the cases of property disputes, law and order and human rights will be reopened. About 68,000 complaints related to federal departments and 53,000 from Punjab will be looked into. While 15,000 complaints from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 13000 from Sindh, 1800 from Balochistan and 1200 from Islamabad will be included in the review.

The prime minister had made a priority to resolve issues of the public and the reopening of the cases was an effort to achieve that end. He stated that no negligence will be tolerated during the process of resolution of complaints of the citizens.

Saylani Trust delegation call on PM

A delegation of Saylani Trust Sunday called on Prime Minister Imran Khan and appreciated his government’s Ehsaas “Meals on Wheels, no one sleeps hungry” programme.

Bashir Farooq, Afzal Chimdia, Manzar Alam, Farraukh Amin, Irfan Wahid, Salman Iqbal, Imtiaz Hussain and Yousaf Lakhani were included in the delegation, PM office media wing in a press release said. Farrukh Habib, member the National Assembly, was also present on the occasion.

The delegation offered its services in the expansion of this programme to other cities of the country.

The prime minister commended services of the Saylani Trust in Ehsaas Langar Khana and ‘no one sleeps hungry’ initiative. He also assured the delegation of government’s full facilitation during the extension of this programme.