PM in field to ensure uninterrupted supply of free flour: Marriyum

LAHORE: Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb has said that 4.1 million people have got free flour in Punjab as part of the Ramazan Package.

Addressing the media here Friday, the minister said that so far more than 4.1 million people in Punjab had received free flour, while 72,000 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 20,000 in Islamabad had benefited from the historic and unprecedented scheme on the first day of its introduction.

She said that everything was in place to begin the free flour supply in Giglit-Baltistan, and that efforts were also being made to replicate this initiative in other parts of the country, including Sindh and Balochistan.

She said that the free distribution of flour had confirmed the idea that when Shehbaz Sharif was the CM, he was always concerned about the plight of the people of Punjab. Flour was distributed in the KP, Punjab, and Islamabad using BISP data. This vision, she claimed, would soon be expanded to Balochistan and Sindh.

The PM has a track record when it came to floods or other emergencies, and he personally monitored the quality to ensure accountability. That’s why he was dubbed “Shehbaz Speed”, the minister said.

She said that Imran Khan had damaged the economy, adding that the government had begun a free flour scheme and a subsidised gasoline scheme would begin soon.

“This is a historic decision and initiative, and to secure its delivery, the prime minister made surprise visits to Kasur and Lahore to ensure quality and uninterrupted supply. He plans to visit other cities as well.” She said the PMLN had always supported people-oriented projects in the past, taken different initiatives and the metro bus service in Lahore, Islamabad, and Multan was one of them. She recalled that inflation was only 2.4 percent in 2018 but it had since risen to over 20 percent. In 2018, flour cost Rs35 per kg, while sugar cost Rs52 per kg. She claimed that robbers who came to power in 2018 had looted and plundered the national exchequer with both hands, and that they were responsible for the country’s torrent of inflation. She claimed Imran had made an agreement with the IMF under difficult conditions, only to breach it, causing issues for the country. The minister stated that the subsidised fuel scheme had been finalised and that it would begin soon.