PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has announced a series of welfare initiatives aimed at providing financial support and promoting economic independence among persons with disabilities.
The initiatives include the Ehsaas Umeed Card, an interest-free loan scheme and the Ehsaas Scholarship Programme, according to KP Chief Minister’s Adviser on Social Welfare, Zakat and Ushr Malik Liaquat Ali Khan.
Addressing an open forum of the people with disabilities in Swabi, the adviser said that the Ehsaas Umeed Card scheme will offer a monthly payment of Rs5,000 each to 10,000 persons with disabilities in the province. The programme will be launched officially this week, he said.
An identical card scheme has also been introduced for orphans and widows, according to which the eligible beneficiaries will be entitled to receive a monthly payment of Rs5,000.
The provincial government has also launched an interest-free loan scheme of Rs500 million to empower people with disabilities financially.
In this program, interested people will get interest-free loans on very favourable conditions to set up their business and earn money from their own resources. This program has been incorporated into the Annual Development Program for the current fiscal year.
Furthermore, the government has introduced an Ehsaas scholarship program for disabled students. According to the adviser, 700 million rupees have been allocated for this program to help these students pursue their education.
The provincial government claimed that these welfare schemes were intended to provide financial aid to vulnerable sections of society along with better opportunities in education, employment, and entrepreneurship for economic independence.
