Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf Tuesday launched a scheme in a bid to the poorest of the poor across the country.

The official APP news agency quoted Musharraf as saying that the "Rozgar Pakistan" scheme would target the poorest of the poor and provide employment opportunities to the unemployed youth.

According to the APP, some 2.5 million unemployed individuals would be beneficiaries in three to five years through simplified financing by the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP).

"I am asking the NBP and all concerned people that they must access the poorest of the poor, especially women," Musharraf said.

He said the unemployed would be facilitated in obtaining easy loans with convenient repayment schedule.

"This is a very good and practical scheme and will immensely benefit the lower strata of the society, especially in the least developed parts of the country," he added.

He said that the scheme, which envisages disbursement of 20 billion rupees (one U.S. dollar is about 60 rupees) in three to five years, would benefit millions of people with special focus on less privileged segments.

Musharraf underlined the importance of an effective and efficient implementation of the scheme to achieve desired objectives of reducing unemployment.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was also present and along with the president went around various stalls at the exhibition arranged in connection with the launch of the scheme at the presidential palace Aiwan-e-Sadr.

Responding to a question, Musharraf said that such schemes have more application and significance for the country's southwestern province of Balochistan where educated youth must get job opportunities and contribute to socio-economic uplift of the province.

In addition to the "Rozgar Pakistan" scheme, Musharraf said that he had asked Aziz to introduce the "Graduate Internship" scheme in Balochistan in government departments and even in the private sector. That would be an excellent program and will benefit unemployed youth of Balochistan, he added.

Source: Xinhua