CM wants Baitul Mal to support rain-affected people of Sindh

Talking to a delegation of the Pakistan Baitul Mal led by its managing director Aamir Fida Paracha on Monday ,Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said the heavy downpour had affected various districts located on the right bank of the River Indus.

“The Pakistan Baitul Mal should come over here to support the affected families that have been shifted to the (makeshift relief) camps by us,” he said, adding that most of the people had lost their houses, particularly Kacha ones in the heavy rains.

Shah said that his government had shifted the affected families to tent cities set up in safe areas of Qambar-Shahdadkot, Dadu and Jamshoro. “We have provided them rations for 15 days along with other facilities,” he said and added that he wanted the Pakistan Baitul Mal to support them.

The Baitul Mal MD told the CM that they had five shelter homes in Karachi. He said patients coming from various areas of the province and country for dialysis, treatment of cancer or kidneys to Karachi were being provided residence and food at these shelter facilities.

Sindh Minister for Social Welfare Sajid Jokhio said the provincial social welfare department had deputed an officer at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for helping out poor patients seeking costly treatment.

The CM urged the social welfare minister to coordinate with the Zakat department and Baitul Mal to assist patients. He added that there might be duplication in the assistance of the patients. “If this duplication is removed, we would be able to support more patients,” Shah said.

Census

The CM also met a delegation of the Federal Bureau of Statistics led by Chief Statistician Dr Naeem Zafar, and said that he had nothing against the technology being adopted to conduct the 7th Population & Housing Census.

He added that what he wanted was accuracy and authenticity of the census results. The meeting held on Monday was attended by Senator Taj Haider, Sindh Labour Minister Saeed Ghani, Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput, Planning & Development Board Chairman Hassan Naqvi and Special Secretary to the CM Raheem Shaikh. The bureau’s delegation comprised its members Sarwar Gondal and Ayazuddin, Deputy DG Census Rabia Awan and Director Munawar Ghanghro.

Dr Zafar briefed the CM that the digital census and pilot-digital census had started on July 27, 2022, under which field services were in the progress. The CM was told that comprehensive training with technology innovations had started for the 7th census.

To this, the CM said that in the 6th census, the population of Sindh was not properly counted. “It is not an issue which technology you are using for enumeration but the question is of its accuracy and authenticity,” he remarked. The meeting decided to hold more meetings to firm up suggestions of the provinces.