Nighaban Cards' distribution begins

The Punjab government has started distributing Nighaban Cards among members of the minority community.

Member of the National Assembly Tahira Aurangzeb distributed the cards. Beneficiaries will be able to withdraw Rs10,500 every three months through the card to meet their needs.

Aurangzeb said 1,000 Nighaban cards had already been prepared and the number would be increased gradually.

She said the Punjab government under the leadership of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz was striving to provide facilities at the doorsteps of people and urged other provinces to also take care of minorities.

A ceremony for distribution of the cards was held at the auditorium of Waqarun Nisa College where a large number of men and women from minority communities attended.

Addressing the gathering, senior PML-N leader and MNA Tahira Aurangzeb said the participants were fortunate to witness development that previous generations could not see.

She said Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had begun a new era of providing facilities but such efforts could not succeed without controlling population growth.

She said whenever welfare programmes were launched, population growth made it difficult to manage resources, adding that attention must be given to population control so that resources and facilities could be ensured.

She said that during a visit to the UK Parliament she saw opposition members pulling the tie of a ruling party member. When she asked about the reason, she was told the dispute was over immigration as the nationality law was being amended, increasing the period from five to ten years as they also wanted to control population growth.

She said the Punjab chief minister was working to deliver basic facilities to homes and had introduced several welfare initiatives.

She said Murree Road had never looked so beautiful before and cleanliness in cities had improved.

According to her, the vision of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz was now visible across Punjab, and the Nighaban Card programme had also been launched for minorities.

Under the programme, members of minority communities will receive Rs10,500 every three months.

She said the chief minister had played the role of a mother in providing relief to the people and other provinces should also ensure support for minorities. She added that 1,000 cards for financial assistance had been prepared and their number would increase in future.