Government denies shutting down ex-PM Khan’s social safety, poverty alleviation programs

ISLAMABAD: The government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has denied reports it had suspended public welfare initiatives taken by ousted premier Imran Khan’s government for the poor in the South Asian country. 
Khan, who was ousted on Sunday in a no-trust vote in parliament, had opened shelters for homeless people across the country and launched the “Ehsaas” poverty alleviation program, aiming to reduce socio-economic inequalities by investing in people. 
There has lately been a buzz on social media that the Sharif government was rolling back these programs due to tough economic conditions. 
But Marriyum Aurangzeb, a close aide to PM Shairf and a former information minister, rejected these reports as “lies.” 
“In his first address to the National Assembly after being elected prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif had made it clear that public service projects would continue,” Aurangzeb said in a statement. 
“No program has been stopped, every project for the welfare of the people will be further improved,” she said. 
Ex-PM Khan’s government launched the Ehsaas program in March 2019. It covers projects ranging from building homes for the homeless to ensuring financial independence for women and family planning initiatives. 
Khan’s government also opened several shelter homes for the homeless and rolled out mobile food trucks under the hunger-free initiative to provide food to the poor and needy twice a day in various parts of Pakistan’s capital.