PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakht­unkhwa government on Friday released Rs619.7 million funds for the payment of honorarium to mosque imams and religious leaders of minorities across the province.

In a notification, the finance department said it had agreed to release Rs619.7 million through the re-appropriation of funds as the financial year 2021-22’s first quarter stipend for prayer leaders and minority leaders.

Special assistant to the chief minister for Auqaf and religious affairs Zahoor Shakir told Dawn that the government had allocated Rs2.6 billion to pay stipend to mosque imams and minority leaders.

He said in the first phase, the government had collected and verified the particulars of over 6,500 religious leaders and would pay each of them Rs10,000 stipend every month.

The CM’s aide said the government had earlier registered around 22,000 religious leaders across the province but in last Jan, it decided to review the data gathered in the first phase, including identity card numbers and bank accounts of around 6,500 people.

CM aide says mobile app on cards to register more for scheme

He said the government was going to launch a mobile app for the registration of more religious leaders.

Mr Shakir said religious leaders could get themselves registered with the government by contacting the relevant deputy commissioners and Auqaf offices.

He said the provincial government had envisaged the award of stipends to religious leaders in 2018 and an exercise was carried out to register prayers leaders from across the province, wherein more than 22,000 people were registered.

The special assistant to the chief minister said the exercise was carried out by the Auqaf department and district administrations.

He said the payment of stipends to religious leaders was not a project and the provincial government wanted to continue it.

Meanwhile, spokesman for the government Kamran Khan Bangash, in a statement issued here, said after the Ehsaas programme, Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme and Sehat Card, the start of the stipend scheme was a step towards the turning of Pakistan into a true Islamic welfare state.

He said the payment of stipend was a unique step, which would provide financial help to religious leaders.

Mr Bangash said the intuitive showed that the national exchequer belonged to all segments of population.

He said Chief Minister Mahmood Khan had issued orders to the relevant authorities to ensure transparency, fairness and merit in the stipend scheme and that the government would immediately address any shortcomings or complaints about it.

The stipend scheme for prayer leaders was conceived by former chief minister Pervez Khattak towards the end of 2017 in the run-up to the 2018 general elections.

Mr Khattak wanted to launch the programme during the last days of his government but that didn’t happen due to administrative hurdles, including the issues of payment mechanism and registration.

However, his successor, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, soon after assuming the charge of his office, took up the issue and directed the relevant government departments to launch the programme.

JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman opposed the initiative declaring it part of the western agenda for the country and an attempt to bribe religious leaders.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2021