Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Friday digitally inaugurated Pakistan’s first Rahmat Card programme, under which financial assistance will be provided to 50,000 widows and orphan children across the province.
According to a detailed briefing by Advisor to CM Punjab on Zakat and Ushr, Rashid Nasrullah, a record amount of Rs5 billion has been allocated from the provincial Zakat Fund for the initiative.
Under the Rahmat Card programme, Rs100,000 each will be provided to deserving widows and orphan children, the briefing said. It added that only those Muslim widows and orphan children who are eligible for Zakat under Shariah would qualify for the assistance.
It was further informed that government employees, pensioners and Zakat payers (Sahib-e-Nisab individuals) will not be eligible for the programme.
The briefing said applications for the Rahmat Card can be submitted through a mobile application as well as via the official web portal (https://rahmatcard.punjab.gov.pk). A helpline (1077) has also been established for further information.
Beneficiaries will be selected through the Punjab Socio-Economic Registry (PSER) database, while final selection will be made on the basis of district quotas under the same system. In case of non-registration in PSER, applicant data will be verified through NADRA.
It was also informed that financial assistance under the programme will be disbursed through JazzCash wallet accounts, and on the instructions of the CM, the government will bear the service charges of the wallet accounts.
CM Maryam Nawaz directed that transparency, fairness and merit-based utilization of Zakat funds must be ensured in the Rahmat Card programme.
She said the objective of the initiative is to ensure social dignity and economic empowerment of deserving individuals, adding that the programme has been launched under the guidance of PML-N Quaid Muhammad Nawaz Sharif.
“We want to ensure that no widow or orphan child in Punjab feels helpless or abandoned,” she said, adding that her government believes in public service instead of traditional politics.
Separately, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Friday issued a special message on International Labour Day, paying rich tribute to workers across the world, including labourers, miners and industrial workers.
She saluted the dignity of the working class and appreciated their contribution to industrial development. The chief minister also paid special tribute to working women who support their families through hard work and struggle.
Maryam Nawaz emphasised the need to ensure fair wages, safe working conditions, better healthcare facilities and quality education for workers’ children.
She said the Punjab government was committed to improving the living standards and ensuring prosperity for the labour class, adding that “workers are friends of Allah, and we respect and value those whom Allah loves.”
The CM said that ration cards and a monthly subsidy of Rs3,000 were being provided to more than 1.4 million workers and labourers across the province.
She said millions of workers were receiving free medical treatment in Social Security hospitals and dispensaries on daily basis.
Maryam Nawaz said labourers were being provided with ready-built flats to ensure home ownership, adding that 750 flats had already been allotted, while 1,872 more will be provided to workers in the next phase.
She said 700 workers’ accommodations were being developed in Quaid-e-Azam Business Park, Sheikhupura, along with initiatives like Workers Vigilance Centres and Teleclinics for labour welfare.
She added that an Occupational Safety and Health Management Center will soon be established at the Nawaz Sharif Social Security Teaching Hospital.
The CM further announced that marriage grants for workers have been increased from Rs400,000 to Rs600,000, while death grants have been raised from Rs 800,000 to Rs1 million.
She said for the first time in Lahore, “Gosha-e-Mazdoor” has been established,where labourers seeking livelihood can sit and rest with ease under one facility.