- PM directs CDA to create a new master plan for Islamabad
- Says measures are being taken to facilitate those wishing to get Korean visa
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information (SAPM) Firdous Ashiq Awan on Tuesday announced that the cabinet has approved the ‘Senior Citizens Bill 2019’ to ensure that the neglected elderly are looked after by the state.
“There is no greater tragedy than the fact that the ones who raise half a dozen children are not taken care of [when it’s their] turn,” Awan said as she provided details of the initiative.
“In view of these societal gaps we see, the challenges that the society faces nowadays, and the fact that our social fabric is being destroyed, the prime minister has approved this bill [for legislation],” she explained.
She said that the proposed law will work to safeguard the fundamental rights of senior citizens and ensure their uplift and protection within society.
Furthermore, a senior citizen’s council will be formed which will begin its work in Islamabad with the creation of an old age home.
“For the past 12 years, I have been running an old age home in Sialkot which stems from my ‘addiction’ to social work. I am happy that the prime minister and I, along with the cabinet, are just as ‘addicted’ to social welfare and the need to serve people,” she said.
Awan also announced the cabinet’s decision to create a centralised data bank to record the information of children who are kidnapped or missing.
“The prime minister has a soft corner for the National Child Protection Commission, and the cabinet today accorded principle approval to the National Commission on the Rights of the Child. “There needs to be a centralised database with figures from every province reported for kidnapped or missing children. This commisison will overcome this challenge and will make information easier to access for the media as well under a ‘one-window operation’ where all the relevant information will be available,” she said. The special assistant also informed the media that measures are being taken to facilitate visa applicants who wish to pursue employment in Korea.
“The cabinet has accorded its approval for the enlistment of work visas for Korea, so that our manpower is exported and foreign remittances are increased,” she announced. She also informed the media that in today’s cabinet meeting, in the presence of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) chairman, the prime minister had directed the authority to create a new master plan for Islamabad.-Agencies
