On Saturday, Prime Minister Imran Khan granted approval to raise the number of Ehsaas Kafaalat beneficiaries from 4.6 million to 7 million.
A meeting regarding the planning of Ehsas Kifalat programme was approved by the Prime Minister. The meeting was attended by PM’s Finance Adviser Dr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Special Assistant on Poverty Alleviation Dr. Sania Nishtar and senior officers.
The Ehsaas Kafaalat is a government programme through which the most deserving and poorest women in the nation earn monthly cash stipends of Rs. 2,000. The programme is parallel to the policy initiative of Ehsaas, in which women also obtain greater access to smartphones.
The Prime Minister, addressing the meeting, said that the government’s entire focus is on economic recovery. In view of the pandemic, he said the main goals were both the security of people and the stabilization and development of economic activities.
Imran said poor people were the most affected by the coronavirus situation, and there was a need to expand the reach of the Ehsaas programme as much as possible. He directed for finalising the Ehsaas Kafalat programme as soon as possible.
SAPM Dr. Nishtar apprised the meeting that in the face of the pandemic, the corona pandemic had increased the struggles of the poorer parts of society worldwide and countries around the world had given economic packages for the public good.
She said Pakistan was one of those countries that successfully fought against the pandemic, adding that additional public welfare assistance was allocated by the government and that international organizations and the United Nations appreciated the initiatives.
