Punjab Chief Minister, Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has said that relief and rehabilitation of displaced persons of Swat was the collective responsibility of the whole nation, and the government and people of Punjab are in the forefront of relief activities for their brethren in their hour of need.
He said that a special fund had been set up for the assistance and rehabilitation of affectees, and transparent utilisation of all donations was being ensured. He said that government had also launched a website containing complete information regarding collection of donations and their distribution.
Shahbaz was presiding over a high level meeting held to review measures for the relief and rehabilitation of affectees of Swat, here Sunday. Member National Assembly, Hamza Shahbaz Sharif, Senators Ishaq Dar and Pervez Rasheed, Senior Special Assistant Pervaiz Malik, Senior Member Board of Revenue, Secretaries of Food, Commerce & Investment and Information departments, Director General Relief as well as senior officers concerned were present.
The Chief Minister said that government had adopted an effective strategy for relief and rehabilitation of the persons displaced from Swat, Malakand and other areas and not only free atta was being supplied to the affectees staying at relief camps but essential items were are also being despatched daily through trucks and trains. He said that more than 50 medical teams were engaged in providing health facilities to the families living in camps, while medicines worth Rs50 million had also been sent to the affectees so far. He said that a close coordination was being maintained with the NWFP government and relief items were being provided according to the needs of the affectees.
He said that people of Punjab were with their brethren of Swat in their hour of need and were donating generously and their spirit was laudable. He asked the members of the committee collecting funds for displaced persons to contact chambers of commerce & industry, industrialists and philanthropists in the province and collect maximum donations.
Shahbaz Sharif further said that a foolproof system had been evolved for ensuring transparent utilisation of all funds and third-party system was also being adopted for ensuring proper utilisation of every penny.
He directed that the website for relief and rehabilitation of displaced persons should be updated on daily basis and all information should also be provided in Urdu language for the benefit of the people. Senator Ishaq Dar highlighted the measures taken for the assistance and rehabilitation of the affectees.
He said that employees of Punjab government had also announced donations for the displaced persons and an amount of about Rs170 million would be collected through deduction from their salaries. The meeting also took a number of decisions for the help of the displaced persons.
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