Unregistered poor to also get flour: PM

Says NADRA, PITB to include non-BISP deserving people

RAWALPINDI:

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said dedicated counters were being established for the needy people who were not registered with Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) for the provision of free flour bags at the distribution centres under Ramazan Package.

“A huge number of people, who are not registered with BISP, deserve free flour bags as they are also living below the poverty line,” he said while talking to media during his visit to a free wheat flour distribution centre in Rawalpindi.

He said NADRA and Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) took up the challenge to include non-BISP people by proposing a solution to this issue and developing a system.

Under this system, he said the non-BISP deserving people would be eligible to get free flour from the separate counters after registering their names in the system.

The prime minister said from Tuesday (today), the people who have not yet received any flour bag, would be provided all three bags at a time so that they would not have to travel again for the purpose.

He also directed the authorities to accommodate people from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) who were living in the Punjab.

He said this was the first time in the country’s history that free flour was being provided to deserving people, therefore the administration had to face a big challenge in the beginning but the process was getting streamlined.

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He appreciated the Punjab government and Rawalpindi administration for their efforts to make the distribution process smooth and uninterrupted. “Their passion to serve the poor during fasting is praiseworthy,” he added.

He also appreciated the efforts of Punjab chief minister and chief secretary in the flour distribution process.

PM Shehbaz Sharif said despite huge economic challenges, the government was committed to working for the relief of the unprivileged segment of society.

He said the government was putting in full efforts to change the fate of Pakistan. He also called upon people from all walks of life to support the government in its pro-poor efforts.

He said he would also pay unannounced visits to the flour distribution centres across the province to ensure smooth distribution of the bags to the people.

Earlier, the prime minister met with the beneficiaries at the centre and inquired about the problems they were facing while receiving the flour bags.

The Rawalpindi commissioner briefed the PM about the distribution process and informed that four centers were working in the city.

The prime minister directed to resolve all the issues faced by the people at the earliest.