PESHAWAR: Second phase of the Insaf Rozgar Scheme, having total cost of Rs700 million, has been launched in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan.

Under the scheme, interest-free loans of Rs50,000 to Rs1 million will be provided to jobless people of the districts merged recently with the province. Persons in the age group of 18-50 years, who are permanent residents of the merged districts, will be eligible to get interest-free loans under the scheme.

Briefing the audience at the launching ceremony, the managing director of Bank of Khyber said the first phase of the scheme was launched in June of 2020 with a total cost of Rs1.1 billion. In that phase, 4,576 jobless people were provided interest-free loans, enabling them to start their own businesses.

He said that the scheme has proved to be the most feasible and result-oriented initiative of the provincial government, adding that 90 percent recovery has been achieved in the initial phase of the scheme.

Under the second phase of the scheme, another 3,000 jobless people would get interest-free loans for starting their own businesses.

On the occasion, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan extended his felicitations to the stakeholders on the successful completion of the first phase of the scheme and the launching of its second phase.

He said that the Insaf Rozgar Scheme is undoubtedly a poor-friendly initiative of the provincial government that has resulted in providing self-employment opportunities to the jobless citizens of the merged districts. He maintained that the incumbent government has “gone all-out to promote employment opportunities in the province with a special focus on the newly merged tribal areas”.

The scheme, therefore, is one of the most important initiatives of the provincial government, said the chief minister. He made it clear that addressing the longstanding deprivation of tribal people has been his government’s top priority.

Despite numerous challenges, the work on people’s welfare and development activities is in full swing in the merged districts. Upon completion of the ongoing projects, people will feel a positive change in their lifestyle, he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022