Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Monday that the government is striving to help businesses and industry so that they may make money and pay taxes, which the government would spend on the poor to make the country a welfare state. Speaking at the launch of 'Ehsaas Langar Scheme' in the federal capital, the Prime Minister stated that under an agreement with the Saylani Welfare Trust, Ehsaas will open 112 Langar (free meal centers) in the first phase and these would be gradually expanded to all the vulnerable areas across the country.
"We have to take the responsibility of the poor and vulnerable, which happens in welfare state like State of Medina," he said. He said the government policies during the last few years have widened the gap between the poor and the rich and stated there are various schemes under Ehsass program and Naya Pakistan that would be based on the concept of a welfare state.
Currently, the Ehsaas Langar site in Islamabad provides food two times a day to around 600 people. For lunch, the charity food is served from 12:00pm to 2:00 pm and for dinner from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. The people are pleased with the food quality and the degree of respect and dignity with which they are being served.
The Ehsaas scheme will now be extended countrywide with as many as 112 Langar schemes being set up over the period of two years to feed millions of people particularly in Karachi, Hyderabad, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Quetta and Peshawar. The Langar scheme has been designed with the ethos to contribute substantively to SDG 1 and SDG 2 ie no poverty and zero hunger respectively.
Later on a statement issued by the Prime Minister Office stated that the present government is putting in its maximum efforts and resources to bring a positive change in the society and ensure welfare of the poor. In this respect, this joint initiative has been launched by Ehsaas in partnership with Saylani Welfare International Trust (SWIT).
As part of this collaboration, the federal government has extended on-the-ground facilitation and support, while the Trust has brought in its kitchen and food distribution resources for the marginalized. Later, a memorandum of action was signed between the federal government through Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division and Saylani Welfare International Trust to undertake establishment of Ehsaas Langar for the poor and destitute laborers and travelers in Pakistan, particularly in the vicinity of hospitals, industrial areas and at railway stations.
The SWIT is a prestigious charity feeding organization that has over the years successfully developed its forte in providing cooked food to the needy and destitute across several major cities of Pakistan. With over 60 different sectors, they primarily feed thousands of hungry people each day, hundreds more are given the hope of life through medical health care, many are educated to become leaders of tomorrow and several are given the opportunity to stand on their feet financially.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019