Pakistani premier launches Turkey-funded shelter home

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Pakistan's prime minister on Friday inaugurated a 100-bed shelter home constructed by Turkey's state-run aid agency for people in poverty near the capital Islamabad.

The "model" shelter built by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) and furnished by the Pakistani Baitul Maal government-run aid agency will provide dinner meals to over 400 people on a daily basis, while around 100 will have a place to sleep and have breakfast, according to a statement by the office of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Separate rooms for women and families and a mosque will also be constructed on the premises of the shelter.

Khan and Turkish Ambassador Mustafa Yurdakul visited different portions of the building and ate a meal with the people lodged there, according to the statement.

The ground-breaking ceremony for the project had been in October and was attended by Yurdakul, as well as Gokhan Umut, the head of TIKA in Islamabad.

Khan has spearheaded the establishment of shelter homes for needy and poor people, mostly in major cities.

TIKA has realized many other projects in Pakistan including in the fields of education, health care, agriculture, vocational training and water sanitation.