PM Shehbaz announces that every eligible family will receive an increased stipend of Rs13,000, aiming to provide greater financial relief amid mounting economic pressures
By Asghar Ali Mubarak
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formally unveiled the Ramazan Package 2026 on Saturday in the federal capital, announcing a record Rs38 billion relief initiative aimed at supporting over 12 million families across Pakistan.
Addressing the ceremony, the prime minister said the move was intended to streamline aid distribution and safeguard the dignity of beneficiaries, building on lessons from previous years. He reflected on last year’s changes, when the government abandoned the traditional in-kind distribution system.
“The items provided under the old system were often of low quality, and people had to stand in long queues, compromising their self-respect,” he noted. Introducing a cashless, digital system in its place, he said, had allowed the government to directly transfer funds to deserving families in a transparent manner.
A third-party audit of Rs20 billion from the previous year’s package, he added, confirmed the distribution process had been free from corruption. Drawing on that experience, Shehbaz Sharif said this year’s package would come with an increased amount of Rs13,000 for each eligible family.
The initiative, he explained, would reach households across all four provinces, as well as in Azad Jammu Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, relying on digital wallets and banking systems to manage the sheer scale of the program. Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety, Syed Imran Ahmad Shah, emphasized that the enhanced payments not only reflected the government’s financial commitment but also its focus on dignity and efficiency.
“Digital banking and a cashless economy have strengthened transparency, saved public time, and preserved the self-respect of beneficiaries,” he said. He noted that Rs10 billion had also been earmarked for families who had already benefited from the system in previous years. The Secretary of the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP), Aamer Ali Ahmad, described the package as historic.
He said the scheme would embody compassion and empathy in the spirit of Ramazan. Under the prime minister’s guidance, the previous allocation of Rs5,000 per family had been raised to Rs13,000, extending support to roughly 36 million people nationwide.
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