Prime Minister Imran Khan Saturday said the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government was paying full attention on the public welfare projects and announced that soon Pakistan would emerge as a social welfare model state among the Muslim world.
He was addressing the ground breaking ceremony of ‘Panah Gah’, a project for providing shelters to the down-and-out segments of society who spend nights in different areas of Lahore without a roof on their heads.
The prime minister said they had identified five spots in Lahore for establishment of Panah Gah and expressed the confidence that soon, it would be turned into a center of excellence. Provision of food in all the proposed five centers would be sponsored.
A board of governance would oversee the project, whereas support of a number of philanthropists working on different projects in the province would be sought, he added.
The prime minister lamented that in the past, none had paid attention to the pitiable conditions of the homeless people, majority among them labourers who spent nights on footpaths and at different other areas of Lahore, including Shahdarah, Ichra, Data Darbar etc.
They were voiceless people and had no vote bank, that’s why they were ignored, he said, adding no society could progress without having humane consideration for its down-and-out segments. The reason for the neglect was lack of sense and not that of resources, he added.
The prime minister observed that the homeless people had to brace the rainy season and with the advent of winter and hovering pollution in Lahore, their problems would multiply.
He also referred to a picture depicting a labourer covering his kids in a blanket, which had gone viral on social media. A person who did not take pity upon such situations could not be called a human, he added.
The prime minister reiterated that Madina was the first in the world which was called a welfare state and stressed that only those nations which full kindness and empathy towards the deprived sections of society, could progress.
