Overview
- Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif distributed honorarium cards in Lahore and confirmed Rs25,000 monthly support for registered prayer leaders.
- About 70,000 of an estimated 80,000 mosques have enrolled in the scheme under a program budgeted at Rs20 billion per year.
- Disbursement begins now through pay orders, with ATM card withdrawals or direct deposits to Punjab Bank accounts slated to start in February, according to separate reports.
- The stipend was increased from a previously planned Rs15,000 on the direction of PML-N leader Mian Nawaz Sharif.
- The launch paired financial support with a call for imams to promote unity as the chief minister condemned sectarian incitement and attacks on law enforcement.