President okays Rs10m assistance for needy writers

Islamabad : President Mamnoon Hussain has approved an assistance package of more than Rs10 million for the needy writers and artists belonging to all four provinces. He gave that approval during the eighth meeting of the Steering Committee for Federal Government Artists Welfare Fund at the Aiwan-i-Sadr here on Tuesday.

The president said he was chairing the last meeting of this committee of his tenure and hoped that the welfare fund will continue to provide support to needy artists.

He thanked all members of the committee and philanthropists for their participation and efforts in this charitable task of resolving the issues of the artists.

The president emphasised that writers, poets and artists are the valuable part of the society who promote positive image of the country.

He underscored that society must also take care of them in the hour of need.

The president said the Federal Government Artists Welfare Fund will be enhanced so that assistance could be provided to more artists.

Several suggestions to increase the welfare fund were also discussed in the meeting.

Members of the Steering Committee, Ataul Haq Qasmi, Zeba Muhammad Ali, Asghar Nadeem Syed, Qawi Khan, Salman Alvi, Mustafa Qureshi, Najeebullah Anjum and senior officials were present in the meeting.