Govt fighting historic battle for rule of law: Imran
Ag Agencies
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was “fighting a historic battle for the rule of law” as he expanded his signature soup kitchen programme to three more urban centres.
“The government is fighting a historic battle for the rule of law,” Khan said in a virtual event held simultaneously in Islamabad, Faisalabad, Lahore and Peshawar, where the “Koi Bhooka Na Soye Programme” was expanded to.
The Prime Minister, along with Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan started distribution of food among people through kitchens on trucks in the three latter cities.
“Pakistan is indebted, there is little money left to spend on the development of the people,” Khan lamented in his address.
The Prime Minister said Pakistan was made in the name of Islam which rose as a new civilisation in a very short time and Riyasat-e-Medina established itself as a model for the rule of law and service to humanity.
He said God’s blessings were showered on those who feed the hungry and take care of the poor. “Pakistan is among the top countries whose people give an immense amount of charity,” he noted.
He said when he planned to set up the Shaukat Khanum cancer hospital, he was told by doctors that it would be difficult to run a cancer hospital. Now the hospital was giving free treatment to 70 per cent of cancer patients, he added. “We fulfilled the promise with the people and gave free treatment to cancer patients and arranged for their food and accommodation.”
He said he first established the cancer hospital in Lahore with Rs700 million and thus far now it had already spent Rs50 billion on the treatment of people. The second cancer hospital was built in Peshawar and third will be constructed in Karachi.
The people of Pakistan gave money for the construction of the three hospitals, he said, adding the same people will make the Koi Bhooka Na Soye Programme successful and there will be a network of these facilities across the country.
Khan said for the first time in the history of Pakistan, Panahgaahs (shelters) were set up for labourers who came from other cities and did not have a place to spend the night. They also get food at these Panahgaahs and save money to send it to their families back home, he said, promising the network of Panahgaahs would also be expanded.
In the next phase of universal health insurance currently in place in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Premier said the network of hospitals will be expanded and further reforms will be undertaken in the health sector, he said.
He lauded chief ministers of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Senator Sania Nishter and Saylani Trust for successfully running different components of the Ehsaas programme, for arranging finances and ensuring transparency.
He urged people to give Zakat and donations in the month of Ramadan for different Ehsaas programmes. Under the new food programme, four trucks in each city will distribute food among 500 to 1000 people every day at specific service points.
Initially, the Prime Minister launched the Koi Bhooka na Soye Programme in Rawalpindi and Islamabad on March 10. So far mobile kitchens had served food to more than 38,000 people. The food was being prepared on the truck kitchens equipped with all the cooking utensils.
