PM to launch prog on March 14

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will inaugurate a government programme to provide monthly allowances to imams and muezzins of mosques across the country on March 14.

Prime Minister's Adviser for Public Administration Md Ismail Zabiullah disclosed the matter while talking to journalists at the Religious Affairs Minister's office in the Bangladesh Secretariat on Sunday, reports BSS.

He said that introducing an honorarium and training-based welfare system for religious leaders of all places of worship of all faiths to strengthen religious and social harmony was one of the election pledges of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

Since the current government formed under the leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, steps have been taken one after another to implement the key promises of the election manifesto, the adviser said, adding, initiatives like Family Card and Farmer's Card have already been discussed and are part of those flagship commitments.

As part of implementing these pledges, Zabiullah said, the government has taken initiatives to introduce a monthly honorarium for imams, muezzins and khadems in mosques and individuals working in other places of worship. In the first phase, he said, the government will launch the programme under a pilot scheme before the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr.