ISLAMABAD - Panagah Advisory Council was informed on Wednesday that 13 Ehsaas Model Panagahs will be opened soon across Pakistan.
On Prime Minister’s special directives, the first meeting of the newly-formed Panagah Advisory Council was held here with Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Dr Sania Nishtar in the chair. A Council has recently been formed under the umbrella of Ehsaas. The Advisory Council has been assigned the mandate to provide valuable oversight on policy and strategic direction, institutionalisation of audit and accountability systems, improving the quality of delivery, scalability, and sustainability of Ehsaas Model Panagahs.
“Panagahs’ (shelter homes) is one the Prime Minister’s priority programmes. Panagahs not only provide shelter to the labourers but also a two-time meal to them. To facilitate daily wagers, 22 Panagah facilities have been built so far under Ehsaas countrywide,” said Dr. Sania.
Focal Person for Panagahs Naseem-ur-Rehman said, “The concept of ‘Panagah’ emerges from Prime Minister’s vision of compassion to facilitate the destitute and helpless people, while upholding their self-respect. ‘Panagahs’ protect the people from extreme weather conditions and chilling temperatures.”
While orienting the Council on the expansion plan of Panagahs, MD Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal informed that the opening of thirteen Ehsaas Model Panagahs is on the anvil including three in Rawalpindi, Lahore and Gujranwala districts of Punjab; four in Peshawar, Kohat, Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan districts of KP; three in Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur districts of Sindh; and three in Washuk, Noshki and Kharan districts of Balochistan. Last year in August, the Prime Minister entrusted the Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division with the responsibility of improving quality standards within ‘Panagahs’. Since then, work was accelerated speedily, and a framework was developed to upgrade standards of all five ‘Panagahs’ in Islamabad as a starting point. The Poverty Division developed the policy framework and Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal was given responsibility for execution.
