BAJAUR: Residents of Bajaur district have flayed the provincial government for unnecessary delay in the launch of the Ramazan support programme, saying its impact would be lost if not implemented immediately.

Talking to Dawn, they said that the provincial government had announced that eligible families would receive a payment of Rs12,500 per family at the start of Ramazan when the scheme was approved days before the holy month.

However, they claimed that the programme was yet to be launched in the district, despite the fact that the process of submitting applications for the initiative had been completed several days ago.

They noted that the much-awaited programme’s delay had worried thousands of poor families who had applied for it.

“The unnecessary delay in awarding payments to beneficiaries is not only causing them distress but also making them doubtful about the scheme,” residents Hazrat Khan, Naqeeb Khan, Gul Wali, Aslam Khan and others said.

A number of people, who have applied to the programme, told Dawn that they had attached great expectations to the scheme, hoping to buy essential commodities for Ramazan with the amount provided, but their hopes were dashed.

The residents alleged that the prolonged delay in the scheme’s launch had significantly diminished its importance.

The residents urged the chief minister to ensure the Ramazan support programme was launched in the district without delay.

Meanwhile, PTI MPA Dr Hamidur Rehman claimed that the programme would be launched soon across the district. In a statement shared on his official Facebook page, the MPA said that a total of 29,554 families across the district had been declared eligible for the financial assistance.

Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2026