Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz on Monday chaired a meeting to give a final shape to the chief minister’s relief package for the masses.
MPAs including Sardar Awais Leghari, Kh. Imran Nazir, Bilal Yasin, Ramzan Siddique Bhatti, ticket-holder Hafiz Muhammad Nauman, PMLN leader Atta Tarar, secretaries of agriculture, food, industries and finance departments, and othersattended the meeting.
The CM emphasized that the government would provide relief to the masses, and said that a decision had been made to reduce the price of flour and sugar for the people. He said this relief was the right of the people and hoped that the special relief package would redress the difficulties of the common man.
“A substantial relief would be given in prices to give genuine relief to the common man,” he stated and added that he was standing with the people.
“The relief package should be given final shape without any delay as the 15 days have passed,” he stressed, and directed to devise a foolproof monitoring mechanism.
He asked the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) to take a lead in this regard as a separate monitoring cell would be set up for the relief package.
Meanwhile, Hamza Shahbaz directed to expedite rescue operation in the wake of boat capsize incident in river Ravi near Nankana Sahib.
The chief minister directed to utilize all necessary resources in order to save human lives and asked the departments concerned to continue relief and rescue efforts. Hamza Shehbaz also chaired a meeting at Model Town to review jail reforms and directed to provide him with a comprehensive roadmap for the welfare of the prisoners. The CM directed that a comprehensive plan should also be chalked out for the welfare of the jail employees. I know how detainees spend their time as I have spent 22 months in jail, he added. The jail world is a different phenomenon where inhuman treatment is meted out to inmates because of the obsolete jail system.
“There is no welfare for the prison staff either. I plan to immediately resolve the problems of jail employees and prisoners and the introduction of necessary reforms is the need of the hour,” he stressed. The CM directed to immediately provide necessary medical equipment in jail hospitals adding that ambulances should be available to transfer patients from jail hospitals to other hospitals. He also directed to start shuttle service from the gate of Kot Lakhpat jail to the jail building for facilitating the visitors and added that shuttle service should also be started in such jails where there is a long distance from the gate to jail buildings.
