Islamabad: The government is seeking to set up more panagahs for the society’s underprivileged sections on a public-private partnership basis, according to a news report. To this effect, it recently publicised its request for the business community’s cooperation during a detailed briefing held on the Panagah Program at the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce.
The government representatives at this briefing included Member of National Assembly (MNA) Sajida Zulfiqar, Prime Minister’s focal person for government’s Panagah Programme Naseem ur Rehman, and Chairman Standing Committee on Accountability and Discipline Salman Aftab.
MNA Sajida Zulfiqar, speaking at the occasion, stated that the government was looking to set up more panagahs on a public-private partnership basis, so that they can be run sustainably. She added that the business community’s welfare initiatives were laudable, and their cooperation in this regard would be highly appreciated as well.
Naseem ur Rehman stated that there were 27 panagahs currently operational in the country, and that the government planed to set up 100 more by the end of the year in order to help the poor. He added that each shelter home costed PKR 600,000 to set up, which is why the business community would find it feasible — as over PKR 292 billion is given to charity in Pakistan every year, while the government’s budget for this program is PKR 6 billion.
