PESHAWAR: The adviser to chief minister for finance, Muzammil Aslam, said here on Monday that payment of Rs10,000 Ramazan relief package each to about 850,000 families of the province would start in the current week.

Addressing a press conference, he said that the relief package of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the best among all provinces.

He said that it was aimed at ensuring transparency and protecting the honour of people.

Mr Aslam said that the relief package would benefit 850,000 families. He said that the families were selected on the basis of data of Benazir Income Support Programme.

He said that government issued funds to food department and the next step was to disburse the amount through bank

“The process will start in the current week,” he said. He said that government released Rs8.5 billion for the purpose. In addition to this, Rs5 billion has been released for health card and government is working to make the health insurance scheme a sustainable one.

Mr Aslam said that government was also working on bringing changes in the health card scheme to ensure transparency. He said that government would also release funds to maintain law and order in the province.

He criticised the Punjab government for its decision to ban transportation of onions and bananas to other provinces.

He said that since Punjab was a food basket, therefore, the emphasis should have been on facilitating people during the holy month of Ramazan instead of banning supplies of food items.

Mr Aslam said that increase the oil and gas prices would badly affect poor; therefore, government should give proper thought to it before making any decision. Besides, he said that government would also revive the development budget soon.

To a question about the province’s debt, Mr Aslam said that liabilities of KP stood at Rs630 billion.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2024