GUJRAT: The Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP) has pledged to ensure a minimum wage of Rs50,000 for workers, offer subsidies to the poor on electricity bills, allocate more funds to the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) and reduce petrol prices.

Abdul Aleem Khan, president of IPP, made the announcement while addressing a public meeting organised by his party’s local chapter in Hafizabad on Friday.

If the party is voted into power, it will collect taxes from the wealthy class and allocate the country’s resources to benefit the poor and needy, he said.

He emphasised that providing relief to the ordinary and poor classes of the country would be the top priority of his party.

Pledges Rs50,000 minimum wage, subsidies to poor on electricity bills

The price of petroleum products would be higher for those with large vehicles, while relief would be given to motorcyclists and owners of small vehicles, he said.

Similarly, he said, three-marla plots and flats would be provided to the homeless people.

IPP’s patron-in-chief Jahangeer Khan Tareen, in his speech, said that the time had come for political parties to work together in the larger interest of the country, rather than continuing the previous practice of confrontation with each other.

He stressed the need for a super system, prioritising Pakistan’s interests in politics.

Mr Tareen said that the party believed in making only those commitments that could be fulfilled after coming into power. The aim is to provide facilities to the masses to alleviate their fears of starvation and poverty, he added.

Furthermore, he announced that the youth would receive skill-based education for a better future. Women’s empowerment will be a top priority for the party, with women being provided easy loans to start small businesses and contribute to national growth and the economy, he added.

Former federal minister and senior IPP leader, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, and former MPA from Hafizabad, Mamoon Jafar Tarrar, also addressed the public meeting.

The public meeting in Hafizabad marks the first-ever political activity by the IPP in any town in central Punjab’s Gujranwala region, traditionally considered a stronghold of the PML-N. However, PTI has also gained support in the region in recent years.

This was the IPP’s second public meeting in Punjab, following a previous event in Jahania town in southern Punjab.

Published in Dawn, November 4th, 2023