December 5, 2005	Monday	Ziqa’ad 2, 1426

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LAHORE, Dec 4: Around 5,000 quake-affected families of Azad Kashmir and the NWFP were adopted by leading industrialists, businessmen and politicians here at the launch of Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi’s Support-A-Family Programme on Sunday evening.

People from other callings also adopted families on telephone and officials said the commitments and cash donations by some touched Rs500 million.

The chief minister, who had announced the programme last month, said 100,000 families would be given a monthly stipend of Rs6,000 each initially for one year by donors within and outside the country.

The ceremony, which was held at the Chief Minister’s The Mall Secretariat, was also telecast live by a private television channel to attract donors the world over.

PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Husain and Secretary-General Mushahid Husain sat in the channel’s Dubai office to launch the programme. A number of cabinet ministers, senior government officers, nazims and industrialists from all over the province attended the ceremony and announced adoption of the families.

The government had expected the adoption of around 3,000 families at the function. Faisalabad and Sialkot chambers of commerce and industry representatives announced adoption of 500 families each.

The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry officials adopted 100 families and minister Aleem Khan 150 families. Minister of State for Health Shahnaz Sheikh adopted one family and Lahore’s leading politician and socialite Yousuf Salahuddin five families.

A documentary was shown to reflect the plight of the affected people and the gravity of the havoc wreaked by the calamity. It made the atmosphere sombre and people emotional.

The chief minister appealed to the people to generously adopt the families, who needed their help. “I am pleading for the affected human beings and only Allah Almighty can reward you for your generosity,” he said.

He praised President Gen Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and the Pakistan army for providing relief to the people, who lost everything in the tragedy. The president had launched the programme by filling in a form, he said.

Pervaiz Elahi said the donors conference convened by the federal government was a success. The world countries donated for the survivors more than the government expectations, proving the effectiveness of Pakistan’s foreign policy during the recent years.

He said the recipients of the monthly stipend would include those who had lost their breadwinners and a majority of the family members. Also those who had lost limbs, besides widows and orphans would be enrolled in the scheme.

He said the programme had been launched after fulfilling all legal requirements, ensuring transparency in the distribution of funds and the conduct of administration. Unlike the world donor agencies, like the Red Cross, the government would not deduct any administrative cost and instead bear it by itself, he said.

The chief minister said the data about the deserving families had been collected from Nadra. The donations would be distributed among the adopted families through banks, post offices and field teams for which volunteers would be engaged. Assistance from army would also be sought for the purpose.

He said donors would be allowed to meet the recipient families so that they could know that their money was being used for the defined purpose. The direct contact would also make the donors further provide assistance to the affected families.

The Punjab government, he said, had so far provided over Rs2.25 billion worth of assistance to the affected people. It had been in a constant touch with the army’s sector commanders and sending relief goods according to the demand.

He said the people of the Punjab had extended all-out support to the affected people, winning praise especially in the NWFP where certain elements had created misunderstandings about them. “The acrimony towards Punjabis has now turned into affection because of their selfless service,” he said.

The chief minister said the administration, too, had left no stone unturned in providing relief to the affected people. But because of the large-scale destruction, it would take time in restructuring.

“I have gone there several times and believe you me the quake has eaten up schools, teachers and students. Those who survived lost elders and limbs, homes and hearths,” he said.

He said the infrastructure had been destroyed and people had little to eat and face the worst winter. “The scenes of devastation and the plight of women and children are moving, making us thank Allah Almighty that we and our children are safe. But it is required to extend full support to those who fell victim to the tragedy,” he said.

Chief Secretary Salman Siddique gave out details of the plan and said Rs7.2 billion would be given to the affected people through donors. It would be run by the Disaster Relief Management Society under Hafeez Akhtar Randhawa.

He said the society’s board of governors included Chaudhry Shujaat Husain, chief ministers of the Punjab and the NWFP, the Azad Kashmir prime minister and Syed Mushahid Husain.

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