FM urges masses to follow social distancing to fight COVID-19

MULTAN, Apr 11 (APP):Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi Saturday urged the masses to follow social distancing in order to stop spread of pandemic COVID-19 effectively.

The FM said the government was well aware of the hardships of labourers, daily wagers and others due to lock down in prevailing coronavirus situation and huge amounts have been earmarked for financial assistance of the poor.
He said this during his visit to Basti Khudadad to inspect cash delivery among deserving women under Ehsas Programme.

He said “We as a nation could stop spread and overcome the pandemic”.

Qureshi observed that Ehsas Programme was one of the transparent financial assistance programmes of the country’s history. The poor could avail financial assistance by sending SMS, he said adding that there was no political interference in the programme.

The foreign minister stated that International organization had appreciated the programme for its complete transparency.

Qureshi also talked to women and posed them questions about cash delivery procedure and transparency over which the women expressed their satisfaction.

Deputy Commissioner Aamir Khattak briefed the Foreign Minister and stated that 5500 women were given cash on first day. Similarly, 12000 and 20,000 women were given cash on second and third day respectively. He informed that every deserving woman was given financial assistance following biometric verification.

The FM instructed administration to ensure delivery of cash to deserving families as early as possible so that they could purchase items of daily use.