LAHORE: As a special initiative of Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, educational scholarships worth Rs6.8 million were distributed among 209 talented students belonging to the minority community on Thursday.
The cheques were distributed by Members of Provincial Assembly (MPAs) Tariq Masih Gill, Shehzad Munshi, Shazia Tariq and Kanji Ram during a ceremony organised by the Punjab Human Rights & Minorities (HR&MA) Department at the Town Hall.
HR&MA Secretary Asim Iqbal, Deputy Secretary Hammadul Hassan, representatives of district administration and members of the minority community along with the parents of the recipients, attended the ceremony.
The financial assistance cheques were distributed among 209 deserving candidates of Matriculation, Intermediate, Graduation and Post-Graduate. According to details, 148 candidates were selected from the Lahore district, 22 candidates from Sheikhupura, 6 from Nankana Sahib and 33 candidates from the Kasur district.
All the MPAs congratulated the recipients of the scholarships and said that the Punjab chief minister had allocated millions of rupees for the provision of educational scholarships to the talented students of the minority community during the ongoing year.
The students expressed gratitude to the chief minister for providing huge funds for the minorities and said it was a great gesture enunciating inter-religion harmony. They also said that the minorities were proud to be Pakistanis.
