Relief package of Rs 28b to minimize effects of increased fuel prices on poor: Shazia

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety, Shazia Marri Tuesday said the federal cabinet has approved relief package of worth Rs. 28 billion to counter the effects of increased petroleum prices on the poor citizens.

“The relief package has been introduced to reduce the impact of inflation on the vulnerable segments amid increase in the price of petroleum products, which was inevitable to save the country’s economy”, Marri said during a presser along with Pakistan People’s Party leader, Faisal Karim Kundi.

The package covering 14 million families (overall 90 million people) which is around 30 percent of the total population will be executed from June through giving Rs. 2000 per family while the mechanism will be revealed soon.

Out of 14 million families, eight million families will be identified from the Benazir Income Support Program while the other six million, having the monthly income of less than Rs. 40,000, will be identified through the National Socio-Economic Registry (NSER), she said.

The federal minister said that the coalition government is pursuing concrete efforts to provide much-needed targeted subsidies to the poorest of the poor. “The increase in petrol prices was a difficult decision to save the country’s economy from bankruptcy owing to the ineffective policies of the former Minister, Imran Khan”, she observed.

She said that Imran Ahmad Niazi is finding it difficult to digest his removal from the seat of Prime Minister and spreading anarchy and chaos in the country.

The former Prime Minister himself accepted that those accompanied him to the march towards Islamabad were having weapons which is dangerous for a country which is already fighting on different fronts including economy, terrorism etc.

Marri criticized the former Prime Minister for misusing resources of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to attack on the federation and termed it unacceptable.
She also condemned Imran Khan for using derogatory language about the Prime Minister, Shahbaz Sharif and said “Prime Minister and Chief Minister are constitutional posts and are supposed to respect the Prime Minister of the country”, she said.

“How Imran Khan claim that his government is free of any blame of corruption when there was a list of corruption scandals like Peshawar BRT, Malamjabba, Rawalpindi Ring Road, Petroleum sector, Medicine, Gogi etc.

She said that everyone is aware of the abusive brigade of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf which is running `Gogi Bachau Movement’. “Imran Khan, who is spreading hatred and dividing the nation, has become a threat to this country.”

The former PM is spreading anarchy and encouraging the people to resort to violence creating an atmosphere of anxiety and worry in the country. He led this country towards bankruptcy therefore all the political parties removed him in a constitutional way.

The federal minister pointed out that the Interior Ministry informed that violence was being incited in the name of protest and when the government tried to handle the situation, the protestors targeted the police officials.

The masses did not came out with Imran Khan while there were only fewer with the former Information Minister, Chaudhry Fawad Hussain too who is spreading false information through presser. “The lawyer and witness of a liar are also liars”, she added.

She expressed astonishment how Imran Khan gave justification of killing of a police official. “Imran Khan is responsible for taking law into his hands, killing of that personnel and cannot be excused for this”, she said.

“Protest is everyone’s right in this country but bringing armed men into the capital to create disruption and ruin peace is not acceptable at all, she said.