‘Ehsaas Langar’ shortly in Islamabad

Islamabad :Determined to reduce the burden of hunger for the poor, the government poverty alleviation programme ‘Ehsaas’ is partnering with Saylani Welfare International Trust (SWIT) to open ‘Ehsaas Langar’ (soup kitchen) shortly in Islamabad. The joint initiative will later be extended countrywide to feed the poor and needy, in particular in Karachi, Hyderabad, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Quetta and Peshawar.

Under the public-private partnership arrangement for the said ‘Langar,’ the federal government is extending on-the-ground facilitation and support, while the Trust is bringing in its kitchen and food distribution resources to feed the needy every day. The journey of this mutual collaboration began when Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister paid visits to Saylani Welfare International Trust’s food distribution and kitchen sites last month during her official visits to Karachi and Quetta to explore ways of collaborating with provinces under Ehsaas.

To articulate the operational modalities for expanding Ehsaas Langar beginning with Islamabad, Dr. Sania Nishtar had invited the leadership of SWIT at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat in Islamabad on Tuesday. The finalization of modalities by the end of this week will be followed by signing of a Memorandum of Action between the two. During the meeting, the scale, breadth and diversity of the initiative were framed and it was agreed that further deliberations will take place soon to build up on the agreed areas.

Talking to the Trust, Dr. Nishtar said, “The Prime Minister has directed that we should open ‘Langars’ and that no one should go hungry; this is our gesture of curbing the uncertainty for the poor who often are not aware if they will have food to eat next.