11 months on, Zakat beneficiaries await aid
Despite the first month of 2025 coming to an end, the severe financial crisis continues to prevent the disbursement of aid to 18,690 deserving individuals in the Rawalpindi division under Zakat and Baitul Mal programmes.
These government welfare institutions meant to support the poor, widows, orphans, the visually impaired, and families of leprosy patients, are themselves facing a funding crisis.
For the past 11 months, funds for Punjab Baitul Mal and the Zakat Department have remained frozen, leaving patients dependent on free treatment and dialysis at government hospitals in distress.
Free surgeries and medications under the Zakat fund have also been completely halted.
The suspension of the marriage grant programme has put weddings of underprivileged girls on hold, while aid for leprosy patients and visually impaired individuals has also been discontinued.
The absence of appointed provincial and district chairpersons for Zakat for the past two years has rendered both Zakat and Punjab Baitul Mal ineffective.
With the legal two-year tenure of Zakat committees expiring, all 42 district Zakat councils and 12,000 local committees across Punjab have dissolved. The system is now being run by temporary administratorsdeputy commissionerswho have not convened a single meeting in two years.
Sources from the Zakat Department revealed to the Express Tribune that district Zakat chairpersons have been absent for three years, while local committee chairpersons have not been appointed for two years and five months.
In Rawalpindi alone, the selection of 1,166 local Zakat committees remains pending.
Every day, affected individuals visit Zakat offices only to return empty-handed.
Shakila Bibi, a widow, lamented that she has not received financial aid for 11 months.
Her application for a marriage grant to support her daughter's wedding was rejected due to a lack of funds. Visually impaired Mushkoor Ahmed also expressed frustration over the complete halt of financial assistance for blind individuals.
Meanwhile, Nadia Begum, the mother of a leprosy patient, said, "We are even forbidden from begging due to our condition, yet we have not received any financial help for a year. Where should we go?"
Deserving recipients of Zakat and Baitul Mal aid have urged authorities to immediately release the frozen funds to provide relief to those in desperate need.
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