Govt to ensure delivery of ration, food supplies to poor

Islamabad: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan Sunday said that the Prime Minister has renewed his pledge of ensuring delivery of ration and food supplies to deserving poor families across the country at their doorsteps.

Briefing media persons about Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf Core Committee meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan, she said that PM has trust in youth and wants to use the potential youth force volunteers in ensuring supply of food items to deserving people.
The SAPM said the Prime Minister will personally announce a comprehensive road map tomorrow to ensure uninterrupted food supplies across Pakistan.
She said that the Prime Minister informed the committee that the country was passing through a difficult time and there was need of unity among the masses to overcome the challenge posed by this pandemic. She said Imran Khan urged the party leadership to stand by the people in testing times and play a proactive role in resolution of their problems.
Dr Firdous said that due to ongoing lock down to prevent spread of coronavirus, national economy was being affected and chain of daily use items was slowed down.

She said the prime minister advised Minister for National Food Security to ensure availability of food items, including flour so that there should be no shortage of such items.

The SAPM said that there was no shortage of edible items in the country and the committee expressed the resolve to treat hoarders and profiteers with an iron hand.

Dr Firdous said that Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, during the briefing, informed the meeting that his government has allocated Rs 10 billion to provide Rs 4000 financial assistance every month to 250,000 deserving people in the province through easy-paisa.
Those getting financial support from BISP would not be included in this list. She said that the CM also informed the meeting that eight medical laboratories in the province would conduct coronavirus tests of 3200 persons daily and recruitment process of 10,000 doctors andparamedical staff has been started in the province.
He also informed that in case any doctor or paramedic dies during performance of his duties, he would be given package as given to martyrs. She informed that one month salary as bonus will be given to doctors and paramedics, who will serve as frontline soldiers against Coronavirus pandemic in the province.

She said that KPK Chief Minister Mehmood Khan informed that his government has announced Rs 11.40 billion package for providing financial support to 19,00,000 deserving families in the province.
She said that province has overall allocated Rs 32 billion to control spread of the pandemic. The province has also given Rs 5 billion relaxation on taxes and duties to various sectors.

She said that KPK would provide additional Rs 2000 to each of ten lakh families getting financial support under Ehsas Programme. She said that the prime minister also made it clear that the packages announced by the federal government would also be extended to the provinces where PTI was not in power.
She said that any relief given by the federal government to the people of Punjab, KPK and Baluchistan would also be given to the people of Sindh, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan as it was a time of national approach.

She said that in National Coordination Committee meeting tomorrow, steps would be discussed to open supply of goods needed for opening industrial units and construction sector to save the poor labour class from starvation. She said counter strategy was needed to save labour class from unemployment.

She said that personal protection equipment has been provided to doctors and paramedical staff attending coronavirus patients in Islamabad, AJK and GB and the same would be provided to other provinces as soon as possible.