He said under Ramadan package of the government, subsidized items were provided to the consumers and added that prices of commodities on utility stores countrywide outlets were reduced to facilitate the masses during the month of Ramadan.

A record sale was witnessed in Ramadan, he added. Basharat said there are 5600 utility stores across the country which were providing relief to the citizens and supplying quality items of daily use on lower rates as compared to the open market.

He was saying that government efforts to solve the problems confronting the journalists class on priority basis.

A branch of Utility Store will be set up at Rawalpindi Press Club to provide essential items at subsidized prices, he added.

He said that a store has already been inaugurated at National Press Club (NPC) Islamabad to facilitate the journalists and a plan would be formulated to set up more stores permanently at various Press Clubs in different cities. He said that Utility Store Corporation was not compromising on its quality and quantity.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011