Arts Council announces endowment fund to help members in financial need

Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi (ACP) has set up an endowment fund of Rs100 million for the welfare of its members.

ACP President Muhammad Ahmad Shah announced this at a press talk on Friday. He said that efforts would be made to provide plots to the ACP members who did not have their own houses.

According to a statement issued by the council, ACP Secretary Ijaz Farooqi, Joint Secretary Syed Asjad Bukhari and members of the governing body were also present on the occasion. Farooqi announced that he would contribute Rs500,000 to the fund.

Shah explained that Rs10 million was being transferred to the endowment fund immediately while philanthropic members of the council and corporate sector would contribute Rs100 million to the fund.

He expressed the hope that patrons of art in Karachi would benevolently contribute to the fund.

The ACP president said that from the fund, priority would be given to those members who would like to take Qarz-e-Hasna for reasons such as education of orphans and marriages of their daughters so that they could repay the amount on easy terms.

The Arts Council had become a family, Shah remarked, adding that a few days ago, the general body of the council had passed unanimously passed amendments to the rules, including the approval to set up the fund.

He said that the ACP office-bearers wanted the fund to start benefitting deserving ACP members in the holy month of Ramazan.

Shah said that the ACP had earlier been helping its deserving members but now it had made a proper forum with a legal cover so that such help continued. He asserted that there would be an annual audit of the fund.

He stated that the members reluctant to take help from the Zakat fund would be helped from the endowment fund or be given Qarz-e-Hasna.