Special grant for minorities on religious festivals

LAHORE:The Punjab government has decided to give special grants to non-Muslim citizens on religious festivals.

Major festivals of different religions are coming in the months of March and April, while Muslims will celebrate Eid after Ramazan. In addition, the Hindu community will celebrate Holi on March 13 and 14 and the Sikh community will celebrate Khalsa Janam Din and Vaisakhi on April 14, while, the Christian community will celebrate Easter on April 20.

According to the Minority Affairs ministry sources, it has been decided to give special grants to the Sikh, Hindu and Christian communities on their religious festivals. Deserving Christian, Sikh and Hindu families will be given a grant of Rs15,000. They informed APP that the Chief Minister of Punjab considers minorities as the crown of her head. It is worth mentioning here that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has recently launched the Pakistan’s first-ever, Chief Minister Minority Card. According to this initiative, about 50,000 families in Punjab will receive Rs10,500 after every three months and the amount will be increased in the next few years. The number of 50,000 families will be increased to 75,000 families as well. Hindus, Sikhs and Christians have expressed their gratitude on this announcement.