Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Peshawar on Wednesday to launch a registration drive for Ehsaas Rashan Riayat worth Rs. 120 billion.
Addressing the launching ceremony at the Governor House, the Prime Minister said, “Ehsaas Rashan Registration is currently underway nationwide. We have launched Rs. 120 billion Ehsaas Rashan Riayat to protect the 20 million underprivileged families from the effects of COVID-induced inflation that has impacted not just Pakistan but the entire world. Overall, the program will cover more than half the country’s population.”
Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mahmood Khan, Governor KP, Shah Farman, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, Dr. Sania Nishtar, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Fawad Chaudhry, and other Ministers and Members of KP Provincial Assembly attended the ceremony. Senior officials of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) along with representatives of Trader Associations and Kiryana Alliances were also present.
The Prime Minister also urged the KP Government, particularly the Chief Minister, Provincial Ministers, and Members of KP Assembly to support the registration drive for the Ehsaas Rashan Riayat and create awareness about the programme among the poor and Kiryana merchants.
“Low-income families earning below Rs. 50,000 per month can enroll themselves under the Rashan program through 8171. Kiryana shopkeepers can also be enrolled through the web portal,” he added.
Earlier, in his opening speech, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan held out the assurance that the KP Government would fully support and cooperate in the registration and execution of the Ehsaas Rashan program.
The Prime Minister also gave away need cum merit-based Ehsaas Undergraduate Scholarships to female students of the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Peshawar. This was followed by the distribution of Kafaalat cheques among Ehsaas beneficiary women who had recently been enrolled through the Ehsaas survey.
Later, the Prime Minister also met with parents and children enrolled in Ehsaas School Stipends. The children in all classes, in every district, of all Ehsaas eligible families are eligible for Ehsaas School Stipends, he said.
The Governments of Punjab, KP, Gilgit-Baltistan, and AJK are participating in the Ehsaas Rashan Riayat program, so far.
Later, Dr. Sania chaired a meeting together with Chief Secretary KP at the Chief Secretary Office in Peshawar. The meeting was attended by District Commissioners of all KP districts. The meeting discussed an engagement plan for district administrations to facilitate the enrollment of families and Kiryana merchants under the Ehsaas Rashan Registration drive.
Distributing Debts from IMF and local banks to poor people does not make much sense. In this care more than 120 Billion (that is more than 700 Million US Dollars) will be distributed to poor people in one year. Poor will get subsidies and little did they know that in the future this debt has to be repaid back to IMF and Banks. Who will pay this amount back?. What about the next years?. We will get more loans from IMF to give it to Poor people. Eventually this cycle will stop.
Pakistanis are lazy in general. Giving them free handouts will only make them more lazier. Teach them skills and education. Otherwise Poor will never be able to get out of the Poverty circle as they will always wait for free handouts.