During a meeting, on March 7, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari announced that Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had doubled the Journalist Support Fund, increasing it from Rs 50 million to Rs 100 million.

In the meeting held in Lahore, Minister Bokhari said that the Punjab government saw solving journalists’ problems as its “top priority” and assured attendees that the implementation process for the Himmat Cards and Sehat Cards would be completed “soon.”

Approvals were also granted for financial support covering the marriages of 23 journalists’ daughters and the medical treatment of 63 journalists.

The meeting, chaired by Minister Bokhari, also granted approval of support funds for 85 journalists. It was acknowledged that additional applications pending due to shortage of funds would be addressed in the next quarter.

Key officials attended the meeting, including Additional Information Secretary Muhammad Nawaz Gondal, Deputy Secretary Finance Rafiah Qayyum, DGPR Ghulam Saghir Shahid, and Lahore Press Club President Arshad Ansari. The officials discussed the implementation details and reviewed the progress of ongoing support measures for the journalist community.