# Punjab registers 76,000 mosques for imam honorarium, Rs 14.5bn paid so far

Source: Searchable (https://searchable.pk/news/pakistan/punjab-registers-76000-mosques-for-imam-honorarium-rs-145bn-paid-so-far)
Type: News article
Author: Searchable Editorial
Published: 21 Oct 2026
Updated: 21 Oct 2026
Retrieved: 25 Oct 2026

> Imams must use their bank account at least once every three months or payments stop. A chatbot is coming for complaints.

**Punjab's Home Department has registered more than 76,000 mosques across the province and paid Rs 14.5 billion in honoraria to their imams so far** under the Chief Minister's Imam Masjid Sahibaan Honorarium Programme, officials told the programme's fifth steering committee meeting on Tuesday, [ProPakistani reported](https://propakistani.pk/2026/10/21/punjab-registers-more-than-76000-mosques-across-province/). The province sets aside **more than Rs 20 billion a year** for the scheme.

## What the meeting decided

Provincial minister **Khawaja Salman Rafique**, who chairs the cabinet committee on law and order, led the meeting, and Home Secretary Dr Ahmad Javed Qazi briefed it. Officials said:

- registering the mosques was the hardest part, and it is now complete;
- **geo-tagging** of mosques is under way with help from district administrations;
- complaints through the online portal are being handled, and a **chatbot** is being added to answer imams' questions;
- the **Bank of Punjab** and the **Punjab Information Technology Board** were told to fix problems imams face with online applications.

## Rule every imam should know

To keep the honorarium coming, **an imam must make at least one transaction from the bank account every three months**. An account left unused for longer can go dormant, and payments stop until it is reactivated. A single withdrawal or transfer in each quarter is enough.

## What we do not know yet

The meeting did not publish the monthly amount per imam, the number of imams being paid or a district breakdown. If you run a mosque that is not yet registered, contact your deputy commissioner's office, which handles registration for the Home Department.

The honorarium counts as income; to see whether it brings anyone into the tax net alongside other earnings, use our [income tax calculator](/tools/tax/income-tax-calculator). More Punjab government decisions are on our [Pakistan desk](/news/pakistan).

## Frequently asked questions

**How can an imam keep receiving the Punjab honorarium?**

The imam must make at least one transaction from the bank account receiving the honorarium every three months, or payments can stop.

## Sources

- Punjab Registers More Than 76,000 Mosques Across Province (21 Oct 2026) (ProPakistani): https://propakistani.pk/2026/10/21/punjab-registers-more-than-76000-mosques-across-province/

How to cite: "Punjab registers 76,000 mosques for imam honorarium, Rs 14.5bn paid so far", Searchable, 21 Oct 2026, https://searchable.pk/news/pakistan/punjab-registers-76000-mosques-for-imam-honorarium-rs-145bn-paid-so-far