ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan remotely addressed the telethon for the Naya Pakistan Housing Society organized by the National Bank of Pakistan on Sunday. Taking notice of difficulties facing the applicants for the housing loan, the primer instructed the State Bank and National Bank of Pakistan to facilitate those applying for low-cost housing loan under Naya Pakistan Housing Program.
The prime minister further instructed the State Bank to work with private sector commercial banks to ease the applicants’ loaning process. “NBP is the premier bank of Pakistan hence it should instruct staff to facilitate loan applicants. Bank employees do not have the habit of extending such easy loans to cashless people,” he said.
Simultaneously aired on Pakistan Television and different private channels, the telethon was attended by Senator Shibli Faraz, Chairman of Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority Lt. General (Retd) Anwar Ali Hyder, State Bank Governor Raza Baqir, President of National Bank of Pakistan Arif Usmani and Executive Director SBP Samar Hasnain.
He said there was no such concept of housing loan for the poor people in the country, that was why the people were facing difficulties in the beginning.
The prime minister said that the project would also give a boost to the construction industry and help increase the revenue for 30 related industries, helping the economy and cash flow during the pandemic. Consequently, the wealth would create and increase revenue for the country besides creating jobs for the people, he added. “This is the first time in Pakistan that the salaried class or the people with no cash were getting an opportunity to own a house,” he said.
As per details, the beneficiaries of the housing loans would have to pay a monthly instalment of Rs 6,600 for 1 million loans, Rs 13,199 for two million, Rs 19,799 for three million, Rs 26,398 for four million, and Rs 32,998 for five million loans.
He said as the country was under debt burden, wealth creation was direly needed to increase the revenue.“In all ways, this is an important project for the country,” he remarked.
To a question, the prime minister said the government would give preference to the widows and differently-abled person to give them houses under the program for they being the government’s responsibility.
The people aspiring to own a house under the prime minister’s pro-poor housing program joined the transmission by calling at 0519215595 and the panellists responded to their complaints.
Governor SBP Raza Baqir said the banks had eased out the loaning conditions. In order to facilitate the applicants, the SBP had standardized the list of documents required for housing loans.
The applicants would require to provide a copy of CNIC, two passport-sized photos, a salary slip in case of a job or a copy of the rent agreement of the shop or house to make the banks assess the income and fix an instalment.
Moreover, the SBP had also established 16 offices to register complaints and guide the applicants of the housing loan.
Anwar Ali Hyder said the government has announced to extend Rs 300,000 subsidy for the construction of each first 100,000 houses to be constructed under the Naya Pakistan Housing Program.
President NBP Arif Usmani said the people could directly approach him through contact No. 03025567776 in case of any glitch in their loan process.
Senator Shibli Faraz said this was the beginning of the fulfilment of a dream to develop Pakistan as a welfare state. The government has taken multiple steps which were never taken in the country.
