Muzaffarabad: (Parliament Times) Prime Minister Azad Jammu and Kashmir Raja Farooq Haider Khan has urged Ulema to play their important role in educating people for proper disbursement of Zakkat. He was addressing a program “Haq Haqdar Tak†(Right to Rightful) organized by Federal Information Ministry here on Friday.
Raja Farooq Haider Khan said the government would ensure transparency in distribution of Zakkat Funds and urged media, opinion leaders in the society and traders to educate masses to select deserving people for their Zakkat disbursements. AJK Prime Minister said that government has shifted thirty million rupees of Zakkat Fund for the treatment of poor and destitute people in the state.
He said the program “Haq, Haqdaar Tak” should also be initiated in AJK and assured that government will fully cooperate for the purpose. Collection of Zakat is responsibility of government and people should realise their responsibilities before distributing their Zakat and other donations,he said. He said that out of billions annual charity given by the people ,around 30 to 35 per cent was taken away by banned and dubious outfits, which used the same against the people or to fund their nefarious designs.
The prime minister said that different government institutions were discharging their responsibility to check the financing for banned organizations. He said it was a national obligation to convey the message to the common people at large that during Ramazan and immediately afterwards they should give charities with utmost care and in accordance with the Islamic guidelines. Raja Farooq Haider further said,â€Our close relatives and the poor in our neighborhood need our help the most and the donations can also be given to improve the public facilities in our surroundings like schools, dispensaries, playgrounds for the poor children.
He also said that those poor people who became handicapped in bomb blasts or those families whose earning member was killed in any blast also need our attention while giving charities. The executive director of the Program Bushra Taskeen said that the Ministry had relaunched the Safer Charity Giving Practices campaign titled “Haq Haqdar Tak†which would continue during Ramazan on the official media and urged the Ulmas to join hands in this national cause.
She informed the participants that the public awareness campaign “Haq Haqdar Takâ€, has been relaunched with expectation from the all segments of the society to support this initiative. She said in Pakistan, thousands of charity organizations are working in social welfare and development sector in education, healthcare, economic uplift of individuals and communities. It is very important we redirect our donations to charities helping victims and survivors of terrorism by raising awareness towards misuse of their funding in the shape of terrorist financing,she said. Member AJK Legislative Assembly Dr.Bashir Mustafa,professor Taqdees Gillani,Raja Aftab Ahmed,Javed Ayub,Farid Abbas Naqvi and Dr.Abdul Karim also addressed the participants.
