Govt announces free wheat flour

F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: In a big relief for poor, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday announced a Ramazan package providing free wheat flour to the inflation-hit people.
The package is first of its kind aimed at facilitating the poor population. Chairing a review meeting, the prime minister said after its launch in Punjab, the federal government would extend cooperation to provinces to replicate the programme.
The prime minister directed the authorities concerned to complete the comprehensive strategy for the supply of flour to the poor families as soon as possible. Chief Secretary Punjab Zahid Akhtar Zaman and Finance Secretary Mujahid Sherdil briefed the prime minister about the Ramazan package. Caretaker Chief Minister Punjab Mohsin Raza Naqvi, the Secretary Food and other senior officials attended the meeting.
Imran trying to disrupt economic revival with political instability: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday, in a veiled reference to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan, said that the one who had ruined the country’s economy was now conspiring to scuttle its revival through creation of political instability.
In a brief press statement shared by PM Office Media Wing, the prime minister said that he (IK) was hesitant to appear before courts and was repeating the same which he did with the IMF programme.
Whatever he (Imran) had done with the national interests, friendly countries of Pakistan, constitution, parliament, institutions, media and with the people by price hike, was now repeating the same with the courts, the prime minister added.
Shehbaz urges society’s joint support for women’s emancipation: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has said that the government is committed to ensuring equal and just rights for women in the country by providing them opportunities in all fields of life.
The prime minister, in his message on the International Women’s Day being observed on Wednesday (March 8), said joint support by the government, civil society and media was crucial in protecting the rights of women in the country. Terming women the ‘pride of the nation’, he said the country needed their services and skills to progress.
Shehbaz Sharif said the government was taking effective steps for the inclusion of women in the national mainstream and extending them equal opportunities in all sectors, including education and employment. He mentioned in this regard the legislation on women’s inheritance, educational scholarships for girls, women’s special quota in the Punjab Endowment Fund, provision of laptops and ensuring merit in recruitment as Chief Minister of Punjab.
Recently, a 25 percent quota had been reserved for women in the Prime Minister’s Youth Loan Scheme, he said. The prime minister felicitated women in Pakistan and across the globe, saying the Women’s Day acknowledged the significant role played by women in society and also in recognition of their services for the evolution of mankind.
He said history was witness to the fact that social development was not possible without the key role of womankind. He said each aspect of a woman, might it be a mother, sister or daughter, was a source of positivity and thus deserved the utmost respect from society. The prime minister mentioned that Islam as a religion granted equal rights to women some 1,400 years ago and honoured a mother by laying heaven beneath her feet and regarded a daughter as a blessing of the home.
Islam, he said, “focuses on the emancipation of women by encouraging them to explore every aspect of life with dignity”. Shehbaz Sharif said women in the 21st century were bringing a positive change in society side by side with their male counterparts.
He said that it was an encouraging sign that women were leading with examples in all spheres of life, might it be the fulfillment of domestic responsibilities or exercising their leadership roles. From the women icons of the Independence Movement, including Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah and Begum Raana Liaquat Ali Khan to former prime minister Benazir Bhutto Shaheed and activist Malala Yousufzai, he said their contribution was significant for the country’s progress.
Shehbaz Sharif expressed satisfaction that the highly capable daughters, mothers and sisters of the nation were engaged in the service of the country in a dignified manner. He said the entire society needed to actively join hands in further empowering women, and ensuring their protection and just rights.