Senior politician Jahangir Tareen has announced a relief package of Rs20 million for flood-hit families in Lodhran, vowing to stand shoulder to shoulder with those affected, 24NewsHD TV channel reported on Wednesday.
According to the report, Jahangir Tareen directed his team to immediately initiate relief activities, which include sending machinery to strengthen embankments, as well as the distribution of ration bags and essential items among victims in Lodhran district.
“Our flood-affected brothers and sisters will not be left alone. Their rehabilitation is our foremost responsibility,” Tareen said, adding that natural calamities demand national unity and a spirit of collective responsibility.
Jahangir Tareen also said that the District Administration Lodhran and Rescue 1122 are fully cooperating in the relief mission to ensure timely assistance reaches the affected communities.
Jahangir Khan Tareen is a Pakistani industrialist and politician who is the founder of JDW Sugar Mills, also known as JDW Group, a conglomerate specialising in the manufacturing and sale of sugar and associated products, ethanol (bio-fuels) production, power generation, transmission and sales, sugar cane farms, and aircraft operations and maintenance services.
Jahangir Tareen is also the chairman and owner of JK Group, a conglomerate specialising in the manufacturing and sale of sugar and associated products, milk production, processing and sales, power generation, transmission and sales, production and sales of fruits and agricultural produce, granite mining and sales, the PepsiCo Multan franchise, and the PSL Multan Sultans' franchise. He has been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan thrice between 2002 and 2017.
Born in Comilla in 1953, Tareen was educated at the Forman Christian College in Lahore and later attended the University of North Carolina. Prior to entering politics, he had been a lecturer and banker.
Tareen began his political career when he served as the special adviser on agriculture and social sector initiatives to the then Chief Minister of Punjab, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, before being appointed the Federal Minister for Industries and Production, where he served from 2004 to 2007 in the Shaukat Aziz ministry.
In 2011, he joined PTI and became its General Secretary where he served until December 2017. On 8 June 2023, he launched his own political party, Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP). On 12 February 2024, he resigned from IPP and decided to leave politics.
Reporter: Tayyab Saif