Prime Minister Imran Khan formally launched the Ehsaas Kafaalat Program in Islamabad on Friday to financially empower a total of seven million most deserving women across the country in three phases.
Addressing the ceremony, the Prime Minister said government is taking steps to make Pakistan a welfare state on the pattern of state of Madina.
He said the social welfare programs of the incumbent government transform Pakistan into a country where social equality prevails.
The Prime Minister said no society can develop where elite prospers at the expense of a sea of poor people. The Prime Minister said PTI government has so far given health cards to six million families who can now avail medical treatment of upto 720,000 rupees.
Imran Khan said loans being given under Ehsaas program will promote entrepreneurship and small and medium enterprises of the country.
He said around two hundred billion rupees have been earmarked for Ehsaas program to help uplift the weaker segments of society.
The Prime Minister said under Kafaalat program opening bank accounts of women will help stop theft of their money and also enable them to purchase essential items from Utility Stores Corporation outlets. Imran Khan also appreciated giving smart phones to program recipients that will open a whole new world for them and their families.
He said new programs of Ehsaas will be coming soon, under which other social welfare measures will be given to poor people. He said stenting and malnutrition are two major issues facing the poor people.
The Prime Minister appreciated the Special Assistant Dr. Sania Nishtar on working hard and developing proper system to distribute money among the most deserving people of the country.
The Prime Minister also distributed Kafaalat cards among the deserving women.
Earlier, Special Assistant on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation Dr. Sania Nishtar said under the program deserving women will be given cash stipends of two thousand rupees per month.