Govt announces assistance package for newspaper sellers

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz on Thursday announced an assistance package for the newspaper sellers from the Baitul Maal.

Each newspaper hawker will be offered a free medical facility of up to Rs600,000 per year and an interest-free loan of Rs60,000.

The information minister made the announcement while addressing a joint news conference with Information Secretary Zahida Parveen and Baitul Maal MD Tikka Khan.

Shibli maintained that Ehsaas programme had been initiated for the uplift of the downtrodden but regretted that a just distribution of resources in the country had not been made in the past.

Speaking on the occasion, Zahida said Baitul Maal would bear the educational expenses of the children of the newspaper hawkers.

It was pointed out that there were 80,000 newspaper sellers in the country who had been badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

Khan told the reporters that a focal person for the newspaper sellers union and Baitul Maal would be appointed in the federal capital and that help would be extended to those newspaper hawkers who had lost any of their body part.

He expressed his gratitude towards the information minister and information secretary for announcing the relief package.

Shibli said Khan always remained in touch with him for the resolution of issues faced by the newspaper sellers. He said Prime Minister Imran Khan always considered the vulnerable section of the society in his policies.

He recalled that the premier had established Panahgahs (shelter homes) and langar khanas (soup kitches) for the poor and the needy.

The information minister said erstwhile Fata, South Punjab and Balochistan had been neglected in the past and highlighted that PM Imran wanted to take along the under-privileged areas of the country in the development process.

He said the care and betterment of the newspaper hawkers was the responsibility of the information ministry.