Limited aid for women: Zakat body chairmen in Mansehra threaten to quit

MANSEHRA: The chairmen of local Zakat committees on Thursday announced that they would resign from their positions if the government did not increase the number of female beneficiaries eligible for financial assistance.

“The government should review its policy as on the one hand it has been providing Rs10000 under the Ramazan package, but on the other hand, only three beneficiaries are entitled to financial assistance in each Zakat committee,” Adil Pakhalvi, chairman of the Argoshal Zakat Committee in Dodial, told reporters here.

Flanked by other local Zakat committee chairmen, he said that according to the rules set by provincial Zakat committees, each committee was bound to enlist only three beneficiaries in their respective areas.

“A chairman can only nominate three orphan girls for dowry funds for their weddings in a financial year,” Pakhalvi added.He said under the Zakat committee’s regulations, only widows and orphaned girls qualify for financial assistance, leaving many poor and deserving families deprived of such aid.

“Around 2,200 chairmen have been elected through an electoral process within the jurisdiction of each local Zakat committee, yet they do not have the authority to nominate more than three deserving families or individuals for charity,” he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Arif Khan, chairman of the Malkal Zakat Committee, lamented that they could nominate only one orphan girl for dowry funds in a year.“The government is releasing billions under the Ramazan/ Eid package across the province. It should divert some of those funds to the Zakat fund to benefit more deserving families,” he added.

Israr Khan, chairman of the Gariwal Zakat Committee, expressed fury, saying they were eager to serve deserving families but faced criticism from those who remained deprived of assistance.“We have returned our registers to the district Zakat committee, and if our demands are not met, we will resign,” he went on to add.