LAHORE: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif Tuesday said that billion of rupees would be added to the CM’s Self-Employment Scheme so that maximum people could get benefit from this scheme.
Addressing a cheque distribution ceremony among deserving here at Badshahi Mosque, he said that people getting cheques under the scheme were very hard working and responsible citizens of the country who not only utilise this money for improving their living standards but also return the loan honestly like those people who had already got benefited from the scheme.
“Unfortunately, there are many people who have swallowed the loans and are called noble”, he added.
He said that Pakistan could not make progress in real sense until the trend of acquitting loans would not change adding that strict accountability was needed. “It is not impossible and goal of making Pakistan an Islamic welfare state according to the vision of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal can be achieved if we vow today”, Shahbaz added.
Dr Amjad Saqib said that the scheme was a message of prosperity and self-reliance. He said that so far loans to 850,000 poor families had been provided while the amount of loan which had been disbursed was about over Rs 16 billion. He thanked all those who were making efforts to make this scheme successful including Akhuwat, minister and secretary of industries.
As many as 25,000 families would get interest free loans of Rs 1 billion through the scheme and in three year its horizon would be expanded. Different initiatives of the Punjab government including the scheme was for bringing betterment and prosperity in the society.
Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Shami also spoke on the occasion, while Provincial Finance Minister Dr Ayesha Ghaus Pasha, Minister of State Marvi Memom, Badshahi Mosque Khateeb Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad and DCO Lahore Capt (R) Muhammad Usman were also present there.
