LAHORE: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Saturday said that the government was ensuring to provide equal opportunities to citizens regardless of their religious association.

He said “the prevailing crises in Pakistan have hit us equally. Terrorism has not affected the believers of any particular religion. Poverty and illiteracy do not strike on basis of religion”.

The Prime Minister was addressing a ceremony held in connection with the Christmas celebrations at the Governor House.

The event was attended by Governor Punjab Chaudhry Ghulam Sarwar, federal and Punjab Cabinet members and religious leaders of Christian, Hindu and Sikh communities.

The Prime Minister congratulated the Christian community ahead of the Christmas celebrations.

He said that the government had recently launched a Rs 100 billion loan scheme for youngsters in which the religious discrimination had been negated strictly.

“I call upon Christian, Hindu and Sikh youth to benefit from this scheme confidently and support their families,” he said adding that the Punjab government had also allocated Rs 200 million for the uplift of non-Muslim communities, besides specifying Rs 150 million to grant scholarships to deserving students of the minorities.