ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection Dr Sania Nishtar on Monday said that the government is trying to provide relief to people who are directly affected by the lockdown and this week Prime Minister Imran Khan will inaugurate the Ehsaas Ration Programme to facilitate more families.
Speaking on Radio Pakistan Islamabad’s programme Raabta, she said that in addition to daily wagers, lower-middle strata of the society are also badly impacted due to closure of their businesses and livelihoods.
Referring to overwhelming response of the public, she said that the programme received 140 million SMSs, of which 55 million were unique. She also said that five million families have been given the cash assistance of 12,000 rupees each already and the rest will receive the notification about their eligibility and further steps in 10 days.
Explaining the criteria, Dr Sania said that the programme is not aimed at those people who are receiving regular salary from any government or private job. She said that the income of a person is determined on transparent basis from data about them. “For example, people owning motorcars and other valuable assets are not considered eligible for this financial assistance,” she said, and clarified that motorbike owners as well as passport holders are eligible to apply for this programme.
The special assistant said that a new method is being devised for people whose fingerprints are not matching due to injuries or other issues. She said that strict action is being taken against persons who are using the fingerprints of others to extract money.
Dr Sania said that all Pakistanis are eligible for this programme, including minorities. This programme does not discriminate against any minority of the country, she added.
She said that the second phase of the programme will continue till the next fortnight. She added that the payments will be made in phases in order to discourage crowding at payment centres.
Dr Sania said that Prime Minister Imran Khan will inaugurate Ehsaas Ration Programme this week. Ration will be distributed after careful scrutiny of eligible persons and systems of National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and Ehsaas will be utilised to determine eligibility, she added.
She also said that 12 million families would have received the cash assistance after completion of programme and this is equivalent to more than 80 million people.
Responding to live calls and SMS messages in the programme, Dr Sania said that it is important to understand that people who have nothing in assets will be given preference in the disbursement of cash.
She appreciated the role of Radio Pakistan in carrying out the public service messages of Ehsaas Programme as well as disseminating information about it across the country through its broadcasts.
In her message to people, the special assistant said that Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme was transparency and based on merit.
Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) Director General Ambreen Jan was also present on the occasion. People from Islamabad, Abbottabad, Mianwali, Mirpurkhas, Quetta, Karachi, Bannu and Shahdadpur participated in the programme through telephone calls and many others through SMS messages.
