Punjab Minister for Zakat and Ushr Shaukat Lalika and former minister of the same department Malik Nadeem Kamran were at loggerheads during the session of the Punjab Assembly on Thursday, as the latter criticized the government for dissolving all Zakat committees in Sahiwal, which was against the law.
The debate on Zakat started a lawmaker belonging to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and custodian of Sharaqpur Sharif shrine Sahibzada Jalil Ahmad Sharaqpuri said that the government had not distributed Zakat among the poor and needy people so far, despite the fact that the holy month of Ramazan was just around the corner. On this, Lalika said the distribution of Zakat would be started in Ramazan. Refuting the claim, Kamran, who had served as a Zakat minister for three years during the last government of the PML-N, said Lalika has dissolved all 585 Zakat committees of Sahiwal in just one go without following the due process. “Now, the government will not be able to distribute Zakat in Sahiwal due to the dissolution of these committees.”
Responding to the lawmaker, the minister said that Rs 60 million collected as Zakat had not been distributed in Sahiwal during the last government’s tenure, due to which those committees were dissolved. He also accused the former minister of distributing Zakat among residents of Sahiwal – the home constituency of the former minister – who were in no need of such assistance. “An audit should be initiated for Sahiwal district and I’ll resign from my office if proven wrong,” said Lalika.
