ISLAMABAD: Launching the poverty alleviation programme at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) here on Friday, Prime Minister Imran Khan said the United Kingdom was the quintessence of the State of Madina and the PTI government was launching various welfare projects to build the country on the pattern of the State of Madina.

He said the State of Madina was the modern state of this day and age. The prime minister emphasized the need for educating the youth and providing them with better job opportunities.

He said the National Poverty Graduation Strategy under the Ehsas Programme will contribute towards improving the living standard of the poor and the unprivileged. He reminded that every ministry will have a role to play.

“Sixty per cent of Pakistan’s population is under the age of 30. This is the future and they will elevate the status of our country. They need education, hospitals and opportunities,” he added.

Imran termed justice and equality the building blocks of progress and maintained that the Naya Pakistan will save people from poverty. He said the budget of the program was close to Rs200 billion and the govt will use the funds for giving interest-free loans to 82,000 people.

He said it was the state’s responsibility to give equal rights to people. “This nation will stand when it adopts the mission, which is to make a welfare Islamic state,” he said. He said the Chinese leadership also followed the guidelines of Holy Prophet (PBUH) and pulled 700 million people from the poverty trap.

He said empathy differentiated between humans and animals adding that nothing was more important than the empathy inculcated by Prophet (PBUH) in his followers. He expressed his disappointment over the conditions at the government hospitals and said Pakistan had the highest number of people affected by the HIV.

“The cases of AIDS in Larkana have shed light on the conditions of government hospitals. It seems the previousgovernments did not care about the poor people. We aim to change that,” he said.

He announced that the government will introduce new initiatives under the umbrella of Ehsas Programme every month to ensure social protection. Imran announced 3 to 10 percent reward for those people who will identify benami properties of Pakistani citizens.

He said the amount recovered from such benami properties will be added to the Ehsas Program funds. Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood said the Ministry of Education and Professional Training will fully participate in the programme to impart skills to the youth.

Explaining the National Poverty Graduation Strategy, Special Assistant on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation Dr. Sania Nishtar said the strategy comprised three components, including interest-free loans, skill training and transfer of small assets such as sewing machines, livestock and agricultural equipment.

She said over 16 million people will benefit from the programme, while 80,000 people will be provided with interest-free loans every month. Meanwhile, chairing a high-level meeting to ensure better arrangements at the country's airports, Imran Khan said facilitating overseas Pakistanis, investors, and foreign tourists at the airports was the PTI government’s top priority.

He emphasized provision of international standard facilities at the airports and simplifying immigration and customs procedure. He directed the secretary aviation to complete separation of regulations and management of airports under the new aviation policy at the earliest.

He said the foreign companies interested in offering best management of airports and provision of international standard services will be welcomed. The prime minister was informed about progress on the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and given a detailed briefing on the future strategy to provide best facilities to passengers at the airports.

News Desk adds: Prime Minister Imran Khan Friday said he was ready to even face death but Opposition Leader Shahbaz Sharif was scared to do so, Geo News reported. Khan's remarks were in response to Shehbaz' statement that the premier should only do as much injustice as he could tolerate later.

Imran said Shehbaz was scared of dying before being fully able to enjoy the looted wealth stashed abroad. It appears that the people in Pakistan are more considerate than the state, he regretted.

He said those who had been in power for 30 years now wanted to go to London for medical checkup. “They couldn't even make a single hospital in their 30 years,” he added.