LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Saturday paid tribute to charity organisations working for the welfare of humanity and called for promoting compassion, mutual support and assistance for the underprivileged.
In a message issued on World Charity Day, the chief minister said she considered service to humanity an act of worship and a fundamental part of her political manifesto.
“Public welfare, service to humanity and charity are essential pillars for the survival and progress of society,” she said, adding that donations, regardless of their size, could help reduce poverty and deprivation.
The chief minister said governments, welfare organisations and philanthropists could work together to build a stronger and more compassionate society — framing charity as a shared responsibility rather than a purely private act.
“Sharing the pain of others and helping people in distress is one of the best deeds. Even a small donation or gesture of support can bring a major change in someone’s life,” she said.
The chief minister said the Punjab government had launched several projects aimed at serving humanity and improving public welfare.
The message situates welfare spending within the government’s wider governance agenda, which this week has also included a province-wide anti-corruption drive, environmental enforcement operations and the launch of Pakistan’s first AI Intelligence Hub in Lahore.
The International Day of Charity is observed annually on September 5, a date the United Nations selected to mark the anniversary of the death of Mother Teresa, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work with the destitute. The day is intended to encourage charitable activity by individuals, non-governmental organisations and volunteers worldwide, and is frequently used by governments to spotlight domestic welfare initiatives.
The appeal lands in a country with a deep and largely informal culture of giving. Charitable donation in Pakistan flows heavily through zakat, sadaqah and religious endowments, sustaining a large network of welfare hospitals, ambulance services, soup kitchens and schools that operate alongside — and in many places ahead of — state provision.
That informality is also the sector’s persistent weakness: giving is concentrated around religious occasions, direct cash transfers dominate over institutional donation, and documentation remains thin, which limits the ability of both regulators and welfare bodies to plan long-term programmes.
Calls of the kind issued by the chief minister are, in that context, less about generating new generosity than about channelling an existing one — encouraging donors towards registered organisations and structured programmes where the impact can be measured.
The chief minister’s framing of governments, welfare organisations and philanthropists as partners reflects a working reality across Punjab, where charitable trusts run free hospitals, dialysis centres, ambulance fleets and school networks that operate alongside public facilities and, in some districts, carry a comparable share of demand.
That partnership model also raises questions the message does not address: how welfare organisations are regulated, how donations are audited, and how public and charitable provision are coordinated so that the two do not duplicate effort in the same areas while leaving others uncovered.
For the provincial government, the practical significance of the day lies in what follows it — whether the welfare projects the chief minister referred to are backed by disclosed budgets and outcome reporting that allow citizens to assess them, rather than remaining a category cited on commemorative occasions.
This report is based on the official message issued by the Chief Minister’s Office on World Charity Day. Background on the International Day of Charity is drawn from United Nations material.
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