PM Imran Khan striving hard to ensure welfare of citizens: Dr Firdous

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LAHORE, May 12 (APP):Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Imran Khan was fully cognizant of problems of the common man and striving hard to ensure the welfare of the citizens.

Talking to the media during her visit to Fountain House here on Wednesday, she said concerted efforts were being made to resolve the issues of the public in an effective manner.

Dr Firdous said that she visited Fountain House on behalf of Prime Minister Imran Khan and all the Pakistan Threek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership to congratulate and wish the people of Fountain House on the auspicious occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr. She added the government was committed to supporting the downtrodden and marginalized segments of society.

The Special Assistant commended the efforts of the Fountain House administration for providing the best facilities to the people residing there. She said that under the leadership of Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Bazdar, all the public welfare institutions across the province were burning the midnight oil to uplift the lives of poor and downtrodden segments of the society and were engaged in healing their wounds.

Dr Firdous mentioned the government had set up shelter homes in Lahore at the cost of Rs 375 million, adding that programs like Shelter Homes, ‘Langer Khaney’ and ‘Koi Bhooka Na Soey’ were proof of the pro-poor policies of the government. She said Imran Khan aimed to build a welfare state, based on the model of the state of Madina, where the poor section of the society would be uplifted.

On the one hand, the government agencies were doing their job whereas, on the other hand, non-governmental organizations were also supporting the government on public welfare projects. The public, private and civil society partnership for pro-poor initiatives was gaining ground, she said.

Dr Firdous said, “Mentally retarded people needed proper care and attention, and people in civilized societies love, respect and care for their parents and elders but the increasing number of people to institutions like Fountain House reflects the decline in our society.”

She said that aggressive attitudes, violent behaviors and lack of tolerance were the reasons people leave their loved ones to such institutions. “We need to teach and train our coming generations to love, respect and care for their elders” she suggested. She said the employment scheme being introduced by Bait-ul-Mal would also include people recovering from Fountain House.

To a question, Dr Firdous said the doors of Fountain House were open for those who were challenging the law. The PML-N held the law hostage for years and still considered it as its slave, she added. Protecting the interests of the people and not the individuals was the top priority of the government, she said. No one was above the law and the government was moving forward with the mission to hold the supremacy of the law, she added.

She said that the decision to open Hudaibiya Paper Mill case had been made after consultation with the legal team. She questioned that if the PML-N had done nothing wrong then why it was scared. The fear of PML-N showed that there was something fishy, she added.

Dr Firdous said it was duty of the administration to implement the policy and if a policy meant for public welfare was not practically implemented then there was no point in making it.

She said the CM had decided to monitor the implementation of public welfare policies of every department.

If any administrative officer or other person created any kind of obstacle in the public welfare agenda then he would be dealt with an iron hand, she warned.

Later, the SACM cut the cake, distributed Eid gifts among the people and also visited different wards as well as the library and art gallery of the Fountain House.

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