By Uzma Zafar
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Communications Murad Saeed said on Thursday that two thousand vacancies in National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP) had been filled by fresh recruitments whereas the process had been started to make more recruitments to overcome staff shortage.
Addressing a function as Chief Guest at for performance appraisal of National Highway and Motorway Police, he said that needs of the Motorway Police would be included in the PC-1 of each project in future.
He said with the expansion of the motorway network in the country, the need for NHMP personnel had increased but in the past it was not allowed to recruit more staff as par it’s requirements. Murad Saeed said work on western route of CPEC had been accelerated, which would play a role of catalyst in development of the less developed areas.
He said five mega road infrastructure projects would be executed this year under public private partnership without burdening the national exchequer. The minister said that the Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway would be completed under public-private partnership. He said since its inception,the National Highways and Motorways Police had inculcated high moral and institutional values that were exemplary for other institutions.
He said that Motorway Police was striving hard for the safe travel of the people and serving them in an exemplary manner. Murad Saeed said a welfare state based on justice and compassion was the vision of Imran Khan and that was why he had pledged to provide shelter to the homeless people through Panaghahs after coming to power.
He said that the shelter homes project was an important step which was facilitating the people belonging to the vulnerable segments of the society by making them ‘state guests’. The poor and the deserving were not only provided shelter but also served meals at the Panahgahs (shelter homes) in a respectful manner. He said that Ehsaas Nashonuma program,being launched today by Prime Minister Imran Khan, was aimed at preventing stunting in children. Murad Saeed said the families eligible for Ehsaas cash programme would be entitled to benefit from ‘Nashonuma’ programme.
He said under the programme pregnant and breastfeeding women would be provided special nutritious food.He said children under the age of two years would also be able to obtain money after every three months and Rs 1500 for a boy and Rs 2000 for a girl would be provided to deserving families and Rs 500 would also be given as fare for travelling.
“By the special grace of Allah Almighty, coronavirus situation has improved significantly in the country but there was need to follow social distancing till its complete eradication,†the minister said. He said that from day one PM Imran Khan had adopted the policy of saving lives and livelihood which has paid the dividends and the entire world was giving an example of Paksitan strategy of smart lockdown instead of complete lockdown.