Prime Minister Tarique Rahman hosted an iftar gathering with orphans and Islamic scholars at the state guesthouse Jamuna on Saturday. During the event, he announced a government plan to make zakat management more effective and targeted to combat poverty. Rahman said that with structured and goal-oriented distribution, zakat could play a decisive role in eradicating poverty within 10 to 15 years.

He explained that while many wealthy individuals in Bangladesh already pay zakat privately or through the government’s Zakat Board, the lack of organized distribution limits its impact. Citing research estimates of annual zakat amounts exceeding Tk 20,000–25,000 crore, he emphasized that better planning could transform zakat into a powerful poverty alleviation tool. Rahman proposed identifying poor families and providing targeted zakat support to help them become self-reliant.

Rahman also urged Islamic scholars to raise awareness among the wealthy about responsible zakat distribution and suggested reorganizing the national Zakat Board under the Ministry of Religious Affairs. He expressed hope that Bangladesh could become a model for zakat-based poverty reduction in the Islamic world.