Imran says his govt laid the foundation for welfare state

Former premier cites Stanford University paper to deem Ehsaas Programme as the first move towards welfare state

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan cited a Stanford University study to state that his government lay the foundation of a welfare state for the ‘first time’ in Pakistan’s history.

The former premier took to his official Twitter handle to state that the former PTI government grappled with “stabilising a bankrupt economy”, the International Monetary Fund programme, the Covid pandemic and the commodity super cycle, yet “still managed to lay the foundation of a welfare state”.

While grappling with stabilising a bankrupt economy, IMF programme, Covid 19 and commodity super cycle, our govt still managed to lay the foundation of a welfare state for the first time in our history.https://t.co/Y3gwS1iPxB

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) June 22, 2022

The academic paper by Stanford University was titled ‘Frameworks for a Developmental Welfare State: Lessons from Pakistan's Ehsaas Programme’ and reviewed the Ehsaas Programme which was implemented by the PTI government from 2018 onwards.

Read ‘Ehsaas programme linked to women empowerment’

The Ehsaas Programme was a social safety and poverty alleviation scheme launched in May 2019 and was Imran’s key initiative toward a welfare state.

Earlier this year, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates termed the Ehsaas programme a 'state of the art' initiative of the country, aimed at alleviating poverty and extending help to the marginalised communities of the country.

Gates' remarks came as he met former special assistant to the PM on poverty alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar as part of his meetings with government officials during his first-ever visit to Pakistan.