RAWALPINDI: Prime Minister Imran Khan has formed a supervisory board to operate shelter homes in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

According to a notification, Prime Minister’s Political Adviser Naeemul Haq has been appointed as the chairman and Amir Mehmood Kiani, Arshad Dad, Raja Khurram Nawaz and Arif Abbasi as members of the board.

Three shelter homes have been set up in the twin cities. Two of the shelter homes are set up at I-11 Sabzi Mandi and Tarlai in Islamabad and the one in Rawalpindi is located in the basement of the parking plaza in Raja Bazaar.

The Islamabad shelter homes accommodate 300 people while the one in Rawalpindi can facilitate 120 people.

A senior official of the Rawalpindi district administration said the board was searching for a suitable permanent place for the shelter home in the city as the existing one in the car parking plaza was creating problems for visitors to Raja Bazaar.

He said the district administration had tried to find a better place but there was no vacant plot.

When contacted, board member Arif Abbasi said, “We will soon find a suitable place. The existing shelter home is located in the middle of the city and is providing facility to homeless people.”

He said the board would also approach philanthropists to make arrangements for providing free food to people who stay in the shelter homes. Initially, he said, food would be provided to homeless people at night.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2019