ISLAMABAD: The government in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province has announced a Ramadan relief package comprising ration supplies for 328,000 deserving families across the province, state media reported this week.
Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Director General Jahanzaib Khan said the ration packs will be distributed across all districts of the province through eight-member coordination committees.
“Jahanzaib Khan added that ration supplies for the Ramazan package have already been dispatched to twenty districts, while remaining districts will receive their share in coming days,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Monday.
Khan vowed to ensure transparency “at all costs” and that the government would not compromise on the quality of the ration packages.
The announcement comes after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif launched a Rs38 billion ($136 million) Ramadan relief package on Saturday, pledging direct digital cash transfers of Rs13,000 ($47) each to 12.1 million low-income families across Pakistan.
The government had scrapped the Utility Store-based Ramadan subsidy system last year, arguing that it led to quality concerns, long queues and administrative inefficiencies.
Pakistan’s government announces Ramadan relief packages before the holy month commences every year, when Muslims across the world fast from dawn till sunset. During Ramadan, household expenses surge as families spend on essential items such as flour, sugar, ghee and others.
Pakistan’s national space agency announced last week that the Ramadan crescent would likely be visible in the country on Feb. 18, with the first fast expected to fall on Feb. 19, subject to official confirmation.
