Industrialists and philanthropists have come forward to support the abandoned children living in orphanages and shelter homes across Punjab.
Gohar Ijaz, Mian Ahsan, Anwar Ghani, and Fawad Mukhtar met caretaker Chief Minister Punjab Mohsin Naqvi and expressed their interest in managing 12 children’s homes and three Kashana centers where 611 children are enrolled. Upon the direction of the chief minister, these centers will be handed over to the Lahore Institute of Health Sciences (LIHS), being run by philanthropists. An agreement will be signed between the provincial government and the LIHS soon. The CM directed to finalise the agreement without delay.
The children will be admitted to quality private schools according to their capabilities. A world-class system will be established in Punjab for the care of orphaned and abandoned children, and the government will build new rooms in these orphanages to meet their requirements.
The CM stated that taking care of orphans and abandoned children is a religious and social obligation. People who take care of these children are the benefactors of society. The best system will be established through the cooperation of the private sector to ensure the welfare and education of these children. The trained staff and other staff will be hired for the orphanages. By providing the best care for the children, philanthropists and industrialists are contributing to the betterment of society, he maintained.
A meeting was held in the Chief Minister’s Office under the chair of Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, in which provincial ministers Dr Javed Akram, Amir Mir, SM Tanveer, Bilal Afzal, Mansoor Qadir, Azfar Ali Nasir, Ibrahim Hasan Murad, chief secretary, secretaries and others participated while Provincial Minister Dr Jamal Nasir participated through video link.
Separately, Mohsin Naqvi took to Twitter to address the recent controversy surrounding a Rolex watch gifted to him. In his message, he clarified that the watch, which was received as a gift, was deposited to Toshakhana on Jan 31, 2023.
Mr. Naqvi further explained that he had also written a letter to the Cabinet Division in Islamabad on Jan 31, requesting for the Rolex watch to be deposited in the Toshakhana. “I did not take any gifts from the Toshakhana,” he asserted, adding that any propaganda regarding the matter was baseless. The CM also shared a picture of the letter he had written to the Cabinet Division on Twitter.
