MUZAFFARABAD: Prime Min­i­ster Shehbaz Sharif on Friday an­­no­unced that Rs2 million each would be distributed among the families of the deceased and Rs500,000 each among those injured in the recent torrential rains and snowfall in Azad Jammu and Kashmir

He was speaking at a function held for distribution of cheques among the victims of the rains and snowfall. In attendance on the occasion were members of the affected families, as well as the AJK prime minister and his ministers.

Similarly, the prime minister said Rs700,000 each would be given to the persons whose houses were completely damaged while the owners of partially damaged houses would get Rs350,000.

He asked the AJK government to complete the survey as soon as possible so that the funds would be distributed by March 13.

Better education facilities, vocational training for women pledged at International Women’s Day function

The prime minister also directed the NDMA chief to procure a helicopter to be made available to the AJK government so that it could immediately reach out to the affected people in the territory’s snowbound and landslide-hit hilly areas.

He regretted that the pervasive tax evasion culture in Pakistan had not only overburdened the country with substantial debt but had also posed serious challenges to provision of basic and essential services .

“Presently, Pakistan’s tax revenue stands at Rs12 trillion. It’s disheartening to note that the amount slipping through the cracks and not reaching the treasury, due to tax evasion, is far more than this figure,” he said. “The salaries we are giving in the centre are from the borrowed money.”

Referring to the state-owned entities, he said together they had been inflicting losses worth several hundred billion rupees on the state exchequer. “Only PIA’s annual loss stands at Rs825 billion. Around Rs500 to 600 billion are lost every year in power thefts,” he said.

International Women’s Day function

Meanwhile, speaking at a Khatun-i-Pakistan Awards function on Friday, the prime minister said the government was fully committed to empower the youth, particularly women, by providing them with better facilities of education, vocational training, and the latest technology tools so that they could help propel the country on the road to economic progress and development.

The function was held on the occasion of the International Women Day.

He said the government was making its utmost efforts to facilitate the female population of the country and protect their rights.

He congratulated the award winners and lauded their efforts and contributions to make the name of Pakistan prominent among other nations of the world.

International Women’s Day was observed around the world to acknowledge the important role of women in society and Pakistan was not far behind others in providing rights and facilities to women, Mr Sharif said.

He said the country needed to make more policy interventions and provide more resources and opportunities to women.

He noted that women all around the world were contributing to the progress and welfare of society and there was a need to give women equal opportunities and a better environment at workplaces so that they could easily contribute to economic progress and development of the country.

He expressed the hope that the provincial governments would take forward the policies for women that were introduced and implemented in the past. He pledged to make all resources available for women so that they could equip themselves with the latest technology tools.

“Women can help make Pakistan a great nation by utilising all available resources,” the PM said.

Syed Irfan Raza in Islamabad also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, March 9th, 2024