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Multan: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Friday said the government would start a comprehensive programme soon to impart technical training to the unemployed youth so that they could get respectable jobs.
Addressing a function here to distribute cheques among the deserving families under the Waseela–Haq programme of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) to start their own business, the Prime Minister said the government has also decided to lift ban on recruitment in government jobs and these would be given to qualified youth on merit.
The Prime Minister said the BISP would be further strengthened and announced that the Ministry of Information Technology would announce to launch a computer training programme and establish IT cities and IT centres in different areas of the country at a cost of Rs 15 billion.
Referring to the success of the BISP, he said it has been recognized as a transparent programme at international level and its transparency has even been acknowledged by the USAID and other organizations.
The Prime Minister said that the BISP was the vision of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto so that the people living below the poverty line could be given financial help at their doorsteps. He said the government had started helping deserving people in education, health, insurance and introduced insurance scheme for the widows who lost their bread earners.
The Prime Minister said the PPP is a popular party adding, the party took care of the deserving women so that they could take care of their children. He said it was the vision of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto so, the government took the programme to the international level.
The Prime Minister said that he told Chairperson BISP Farzana Raja to make Multan a model district under the programme and ensured that all deserving could be benefitted from the programme.
He said the people criticized this programme in the beginning, but the government included all the MNAs and Senators in this programme and provided them forms of the BISP, so that there is no political discrimination.
The Prime Minister said even former President Farooq Leghari, was also given the forms and he endorsed that the programme was without any political affiliation. He said a survey of poverty has been completed in each district and now there is no need of assistance from any elected representative.
He said if survey has not been conducted in any area, it will be ensured to conduct survey on such complaints. He said he had been implementing policy of reconciliation and taking along all the political parties as he was running the government.
Prime Minister Gilani said five percent quota of each development project would be given to the party workers. He said those who are raising slogans against party are just “Fasli Batairay” (seasonal birds) and the party workers should not be afraid of them as they are ideological workers and following the vision and philosophy of Benazir Bhutto. He said: “The philosophy of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto is our source of strengthen.” Youth of the party always struggled for democracy, he added.
Earlier, the Prime Minister distributed cheques for Rs 150,000 each among the 286 deserving women from Multan and adjoining areas under the Waseela-i-Haq Programme of BISP, to enable them to start their own business.
Federal Minister and Chairperson BISP Madame Farzana Raja while speaking at the occasion said that some novice politicians today are talking of welfare state but such ignorant do not know that we have laid the foundation for a welfare state through launch of BISP three years ago.
She said that these so- called politicians are even oblivious of the fact that political opportunists are joining their party so of course they are deprived of the ability to see the welfare based steps of the present government.
Madame Farzana Raja said that the government of Pakistan People’s Party has always given the people their rights and has made sacrifices for that. She said that we have given the people of Gilgit-Baltistan as well as Baluchistan their rights.
We have given NFC award and now we will give the people Saraiki province as well. She expressed her hope that the beneficiary women receiving cheques of Waseela- e-Haq at Multan will be able to start their business successfully and once will achieve financial self sustainability.
Federal Minister also highlighted various initiatives and schemes of BISP including Waseela-e-Haq, Waseela-e-Taleem, Waseela-e-Rozgar etc as well as the programme’s achievements so far. She also highlighted the transparency of programme, which she said, had also been recognized at international level.
Farzana Raja said the USAID in its report has also recognized 98.5 percent accuracy in the delivery of financial assistance to deserving people under various initiatives of BISP, which amounted to around Rs 100 billion. She informed the audience that BISP under its Waseela-e-Taleem initiative would enrol more than one million children belonging to beneficiary families in the schools as a first phase of the scheme.
She said that three provinces as well as Gilgit-Baltistan and AJK have signed MOUs with BISP regarding Waseela-e-Taleem initiative but Punjab government is so far keeping the file with it without any response. She expressed her hope that the chief minister of Punjab would not deprive the children of under privileged families of Punjab from availing this opportunity of getting free education.
For more information, contact:
Shafquat Ali
Assistant Media Officer
Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) – Sindh
Cell: +92333 239 4466