The crisis leaves thousands of widows, patients and poor families without financial support
RAWALPINDI:
Due to severe economic and financial crisis, the Zakat Department in Rawalpindi has not provided financial assistance to deserving beneficiaries for the past 10 months. This year, no Eid gifts were distributed on Eidul Fitr and it is feared that no assistance will be provided on Eidul Azha either.
According to sources, the government has not given a single cent to the Rawalpindi Zakat Council during this period. Due to official apathy and lack of interest, the structure of Zakat department has collapsed in the entire Rawalpindi division and the province. The district Zakat committees have not been properly constituted in the last three years and Rawalpindi does not currently have a district president. At the union council level, the district’s 1,166 local Zakat committees have remained dissolved for three years and are headed by daily-paid administrators.
To support widows and other needy people, the department has reportedly started seeking donations from philanthropists and merchants. Funds raised in this way are used to help the most deserving families. However, for almost a year now, families of leprosy patients and visually impaired people in the district have not been receiving financial assistance.
The suspension of Zakat funds has also disrupted medical services at major public hospitals in the district, including surgeries, eye operations and kidney dialysis for Zakat-eligible patients. As a result, several critically ill patients reportedly lost their lives. Educational stipends have also not been disbursed for children of deserving families, forcing many students to drop out of school due to non-payment of fees.
Earlier, around 10,000 poor families, including widows and orphans, were receiving monthly assistance of between Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,000, but now it has stopped completely.
One widow, Razia Bibi, said she has been visiting the Zakat office for the past 10 months but each time she is sent back with guarantees of payment “next month”. He added that his travel expenses now exceed the amount he was supposed to receive, leaving him with no choice but to beg for survival.
An official of Zakat Council Rawalpindi said that Eidul Azha is expected to release the funds, after which all pending dues will be cleared.
