Tents set up in Lahore for homeless on PM Imran's direction

Prime Minister Imran Khan directed the government of Punjab to set up tents for the homeless and provide them with meals as temperatures drop across the country. He then shared pictures of such tents being set up to accommodate the homeless community in Lahore.

Tents being set up for the homeless in Lahore. PHOTO:TWITTER@ImranKhanPTI

Tents being set up for the homeless in Lahore. PHOTO:TWITTER@ImranKhanPTI

Tents being set up for the homeless in Lahore. PHOTO:TWITTER@ImranKhanPTI

Tents being set up for the homeless in Lahore. PHOTO:TWITTER@ImranKhanPTI

Tents being set up for the homeless in Lahore. PHOTO:TWITTER@ImranKhanPTI

Tents being set up for the homeless in Lahore. PHOTO:TWITTER@ImranKhanPTI

The premier added that similar measures would be taken in Peshawar and Karachi and locations are being finalised.

PM Imran laid the foundation for the first of five shelters for the homeless in Lahore and one in Rawalpindi earlier in November. In a tweet, he had said the government is “committed to building a social net for our poor citizens so everyone has a shelter over their head.”
The PDP Foundation, an NGO that uses sports for development efforts in the country, estimates that there are about 20 million homeless people in Pakistan. A 2016 UNDP report says 4 out of 10 Pakistanis – which is approximately 80 million people – live in ‘multidimensional poverty’.
Multidimensional poverty, a metric used by Pakistan, aggregates different factors such as access to health, education and infrastructure to elucidate poor people’s experience of deprivation.
There’s a markedly higher rate of poverty in the northern areas and Balochistan. Cities like Islamabad and Lahore have less than 10 per cent multidimensional poverty, while Balochistan’s Qila Abdullah, Harnai and Barkhan have more than 90 percent.