LAHORE, April 18: President Gen Pervez Musharraf said here on Sunday that having strengthened the national economy, the government was now considering how to make its benefits trickle down to the poor. He was speaking at a function arranged by an NGO, Akhoowat, to distribute small loans among 86 poor people here at the Governor's House.

The president said people were demanding jobs but he wanted to bring about a major change in the country by giving them rights of ownership and titles to enable them to obtain bank loans and earn a decent living.

He said hundreds of thousands of people wanted jobs which the government could not provide to them. Factories were being set up in the country and jobs being created. The booming housing industry also lacked skilled labour and offered ample chances of employment, he said.

The president said he would not raise the hollow slogan of roti, kapra aur makan. He would make an announcement in this connection after acquiring the ability to actually provide these to the people. "I have sympathy and a desire to help the poor. And if one has such feelings, Allah helps one to translate them into reality."

The president said a lot of people were poor in Pakistan, specially those in rural areas. And to alleviate poverty the government was trying to arrange water for them so as to provide a source of income to them through enhanced activity in the agriculture sector.

He expressed his happiness over the fact that the Khushali Bank was giving small loans to people. So far only around 400,000 people had been given loans by the bank, but he said he had asked the authorities concerned to increase the number to at least 1.5 to two million people.

The president said the poor must set up small businesses or acquire some skills so that they could earn livelihood for themselves and their dependents. He thanked the organization and the donors for lending small sums to the poor.

Earlier, the president distributed cheques among some of the recipients and donated Rs200,000 to the NGO.Governor Khalid Maqbool said the government had taken several direct and indirect steps to strengthen the national economy and accelerate progress.

He said that during his visits to various districts in the province, he had found SMEDA, Agriculture Development Bank and Khushali Bank giving small loans to people and philanthropists helping the downtrodden stand on their feet. This reflected a desire on the part of the haves to share the grief of the have-nots, he said.

The governor said that in an Islamic society it was a duty of the philanthropists to help the government provide relief to the poor. He said the provincial government would help poor people engage in self-employment on a self-help basis. It had given rickshaw loaders to 50 people in Faisalabad upon small contribution by them and intended to provide buffaloes to the needy in Gujranwala under the same scheme.

The governor said the president had established the identity of Pakistan in the world and strengthened its economy. "I personally know how much you care for the poor and desire to eliminate poverty in the country," he told the president.

Dr Amjad Saquib of Akhoowat said that over a period of two years the organization had given small loans worth Rs10.05 million to 1,100 people. The recipients were earning their livelihood and many had crossed the poverty line. The recovery rate was 100 per cent, he added.