8 April 2005	Friday	28 Safar 1426

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ATTOCK, April 7: Federal Minister for Social Welfare and Special Education Zobaida Jalal has said an amount of Rs8 million will be allocated in collaboration with the Pakistan Baitul Maal (PBM) to bail out poor women and juvenile prisoners involved in petty crimes and provide them financial help to run their own business. She was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of a skill development and computer literacy project set up by Women Aid Trust at the district jail here on Thursday.

The minister announced a Rs100,000 surety bond for the release of a poor woman from the district jail.

She said women and juvenile prisoners should be kept near their home towns so that they could meet their relatives and other visitors conveniently. She said the federal government would send a proposal to all provincial prison departments as it was a provincial subject.

Ms Jalal said the conditions of Darul Aman in the country needed special attention of the government for their rehabilitation.

She said vocational training centres would be set up for women at all jails in the country.

Speaking on the occasion, superintendent of the jail Malik Mushtaq Awan said the government was making efforts to provide maximum facilities to prisoners besides their rehabilitation and welfare.

Earlier, the minister while speaking at a function arranged by the National Commission for Human Development in connection with the World Health Day said the government alone could not solve the problems of the masses; therefore, communities should play their role in providing relief to the public.

Emphasizing the importance of volunteerism, she said every citizen has to play his role for community and social welfare.

She said the government had adopted a unique approach for public-private partnership to expand philanthropy for human development.

She urged the local communities to cooperate with the government in effectively executing education and health projects so that maximum numbers of people could get benefit from it.