PESHAWAR, Oct 17: Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah has urged non-governmental organizations to establish their credibility among the masses and carry on their welfare-oriented activities with sincerity, uprightness and devotion.

Speaking at the opening of a free eye camp organized by the Al-Khidmat Welfare Trust here at the Auqaf auditorium on Friday, he invited social welfare organizations, particularly those comprising upright and visionary people, to come forward and help the government in mitigating the sufferings of the needy and deserving segments of society.

The eye camp has been set up to provide free treatment as well as medicines to the poor patients. The NGO has also made arrangements for free-of-cost cataract operations which would continue for three days at the Al-khidmat Hospital.

Mr Shah said the concept of NGO was neither new nor foreign. “It is very much in line with the basic concept of social welfare in Islam and welfare institutions have remained in the Muslim societies since long.”  

The government, he said, for over three years have been patronizing and encouraging the public welfare organizations that are working with devotion.

NWFP Minister for Health Inyatullah Khan speaking on the occasion said confidence of the people in the working of NGOs must be developed and stressed the welfare organisations and institutions to provide quality services and maintain the standard in this regard.

Earlier, trust patron Dr Iqbal Khalil, who is also Naib District Nazim of Peshawar, highlighted the aims and objectives of the trust.

He told audience that right from its establishment in 1999, the trust had distributed over Rs8.7 million among the destitute under various programmes.

Local MPAs and district Nazim Azam Afridi were also present on the occasion.