ISLAMABAD: Interim Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Thursday the government was striving to ease the people’s lives.

Citizens should have the assurance that the state would come to their rescue in case of any threat to life and property, he said while launching ‘Helpline 911’ emergency relief services through a single platform. He said Helpline 911 is a major step forward to develop Pakistan on the pattern of the Madina-like welfare state.

“Now every citizen in any part of the country will get the state’s response (in case of any emergency). This is a major move forward towards the government’s mission statement of making Pakistan an Islamic welfare state,” the prime minister said.

The integrated Pakistan Emer­ge­ncy Helpline (PEHEL) — 911 — will provide emergency services like fire brigade, police, health assistance, disaster recovery and motorway police. A person will have to dial just 911 and the call centre will forward the call to the government agency concerned.

Launches Helpline 911 for emergency relief

The prime minister said besides being a major facility, the PEHEL helpline would also give the people a feeling that Pakistan is for all. Earlier, he said, there were two parallel discriminatory systems supporting the rich and the poor.

The prime minister, who earlier lau­nched the helpline by pushing a button, praised the Ministry of Interior and other depa­r­t­ments for establishing the helpline, saying that it would require constant coordination among all provinces.

This project should bring all provinces on the same page because it is for the benefit of all, he remarked.

The prime minister said the PEHEL helpline would enable the government to maintain crimes data, besides assessing the requirement of resources in different sectors.

Reiterating his vision of making Pakistan a welfare state, he said his government had launched the Sehat Insaf Card providing Rs1 million health insurance to every family across the country, except the opposition-led Sindh province. He said being a provincial subject, the people of Sindh could not get the facility of health insurance.

He said the government introduced a core national single curriculum to do away with a discriminatory education system and also launched multiple welfare initiatives under the umbrella of Ehsaas and Kamyab Jawan Programme, including skill training, interest-free loans, housing loans, and farmers loans.

Moreover, the introduction of a legal aid system to provide free legal services to the needy was also on his governments agenda, he added.

Mr Khan said the Madina welfare state took the responsibility of all of its citizens without considering the dearth of resources. Following the same model, China steered around 700 million people out of poverty within 35 years, he added.

He said the country could not achi­eve progress sans inclusivity and without breaking the elitist system.

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2022