Ramadan relief package to cater to around 20m people: PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz on Saturday launched a Rs20 billion Ramadan package aimed at catering to four million deserving families.

PM Shehbaz, while speaking at the launching ceremony, said that around 20 million people would get relief from this package which would be distributed in the first ten days of Ramadan.

With the initiative provisioning Rs5,000 deposits to each family via digital wallets, the prime minister expressed satisfaction over the reduced price hike in 2025 compared to the previous figures during the holy month of Ramadan.

“This year, an amount of Rs20 billion has been allocated for the purpose. The relief amount last year was Rs7 billion,” he added.

The premier also lauded all the relevant authorities and institutions including ministries, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra), the Benazir Income Support Programme (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.

He also expressed his gratitude to the foreign partners for their partnership and support in this noble cause and appreciated their commitment and valuable contributions.

The prime minister said that 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 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 the fluctuation of dollar rates and got stay orders from the court when the government introduced 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 privatised, ending public agonies with a very proactive digital system like the one just launched.

He also reiterated to close down other government entities running into losses.

Meanwhile, speaking on the occasion Minister for Industries and Production Rana Tanveer Hussain said that the programme was sanctioned in 20 days in which all the relevant authorities played a significant part, enabling them to launch the initiative in the holy month.

He said a foolproof mechanism would ensure swift transfer of the amount to four million deserving families all over the country.

Moreover, a total of 600 stalls were being set up at the tehsil level to provide sugar at a subsidised price of Rs130 kilogramme.