No matter how much theft he commits: Poor can’t buy flat in London, says PM

By Mumtaz Alvi

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said nations cannot make progress without rule of law and a nation can never become powerful if it does not bring the powerful person under the scanner of law.

“Nations cannot make progress without rule of law. A nation which does not bring the powerful under scanner of law can never become powerful. Corrupt person harms the country even after laundering the money to other countries. The powerful persons shift the money outside the country while the poor person goes to jail,” he said this while addressing the launching ceremony of Rehmatul-lil-Alameen scholarship programme here Thursday.

PM said, “The state cannot become welfare state unless it fulfills the requirement of common man. A weak person cannot purchase flat in London no matter how much theft he commits. But the powerful transfers the money outside the country. The 1000 billion dollars is laundered from the poor countries to other countries. Powerful persons do this. The country will not develop if they are not brought under the scanner of law,” he added.

PM expressed resolve to extend the Rehmatul-lil-Alameen scholarship programme to the entire country and announced that federal government will spend Rs5.5 billion on scholarships annually. The scholarship is not only for Muslim students but non-Muslim students are also eligible for the programme. He stressed life of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is a beacon for whole world and foundations of a welfare society can be laid by following his teachings.

He noted that no nation can make progress without education. He said the present government is especially focusing on the education sector with the aim that our youth learn from the Sunnah of Khatim-un-Nabiyeen Hazrat Muhammad (SAW). He pointed out that the greatest man on Earth Prophet Muhammad (SAW) made the quest for knowledge a sacred duty in Madina. “We have restricted the teaching of the Prophet (SAW) to the mosque but don’t implement his teachings in our everyday lives,” he said.

The premier said under the umbrella of Ehsaas programme several programmes have been started for the relief of under privileged segments of the society. He said the network of ‘Koi Bhooka Na Soye’ will be expanded to the entire country. He also commended the governments of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for deciding to provide the universal health coverage to the people.

It merits mention that a budget of Rs27.93 billion has been approved for this national level programme which will be used in the next five years. The programme will be implemented in one hundred and twenty nine public sector universities across the country.

The provinces are also pursuing Rehmatul-lil-Alameen scholarship programme. In Punjab the annual budget of one billion rupees has been approved for this scholarship programme.

Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will also roll out the programme for which the budget allocation will be Rs427 million.

The programme is spread over five years. Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be giving 15,000 scholarships every year, the premier said.

The government will give scholarships to undergraduate students from lower-income groups. Students whose family income is less than Rs25,000 will be eligible for it. The scholarships will be provided on a merit basis. Students from 129 public sector universities across the country can apply for scholarships.

The Rehmatul-lil-Alameen Scholarship Programme is being launched by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) at the federal level. Provinces have been instructed to start the programme.

In Punjab Rs1 billion have been approved per annum for the programme. The budget for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been set at Rs427 million per year. The provinces have already started giving out scholarships. -- Online

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) online system Thursday and said this would help performance of the colleges.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony of PMC online system here, the prime minister said that democracy was based on merit system and modern system would help in improving the performance of medical colleges.

Prime Minister Imran Khan congratulated the team for setting up PMC online system, adding that holding PMC online system was a great achievement. He added that revolution was coming in the form of health card in Pakistan. He said health card’s facility had been provided to all citizens in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and this facility will be provided to all citizens in Punjab by the end of the year.

The online service will facilitate the doctors, dentists and students to file applications from homes for online licenses, certificates and identification. This will also provide assistance to the physicians about the latest developments taking place in medical education and treatment.