ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Information Technology Anusha Rahman Wednesday said strengthening and enhancing the outreach of social safety nets for the poor was the priority of the government.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of a computer lab in Women Empowerment Centre (WEC) of Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal (PBM), she said the PBM's role in assisting the vulnerable segments for their economic uplift and social prosperity was highly commendable.

Minister for CADD Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, PBM Managing Director Barrister Abid Waheed Sheikh and Universal Service Fund Chief Executive Officer were also present on the occasion.       Anusha Rehman said modern IT labs would enable the young girls of the centers to meet the challenges, besides getting skill training for economica empowerment.

She advised the students to work hard and get equipped with modern technologies to become economically stable and self-reliant.

Tariq Fazal appreciated the PBM MD for playing a dynamic role for women empowerment through equpping them by IT and other contemporary skills.    PBM MD Barrister Abid Waheed Sheikh said the PBM was taking practical measures for materializing present government's commitment for extending maximum support to the deprived sections of trhe society.

He said some 154 WECs were currently rendering services for women empowerment across the country, including AJK and Gilgit Baltistan. During last four years, those centers had been revamped with introduction of modern technologies for meeting the challenges of modern world, he added.

Barrister Abid said around 11,000 trainees were currently registered with the centres while around 160,000 women had already benefitted from them.      The PBM, he said, was establishing computer labs in collaboration with the Ministry of IT and Universal Service Fund, while Microsoft was training the teachers of WECs.