Categorically denying that the PPP and its leaders are exploiting the programme for their political interests, Farzana Raja said that being the BISP chairperson, she does not represent any political party and insisted that BISP was the will of Parliament and that credit goes to all political parties for setting it up.

Going by her announcement, no PPP leader and its office bearer, including PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, is entitled to distribute BISP cheques to the beneficiaries.

Raja, however, said that the president, prime minister, ministers and even the MPs can distribute the cheques among BISP beneficiaries.

She even offered the opposition MPs whether belonging to PML-N, JUI-F, PML-Q (like minded) to send their requests for distribution of cheques among beneficiaries. “BISP would allow them irrespective of their party affiliation,” she said.

Farzana Raja was critical of this correspondent’s reports about BISP and hinted that this criticism was done with political motives and to benefit the PML-N. When told that every government says the same when they don’t get a pliant media, she said: “Why don’t you write against the laptop scheme of the Punjab government? Why media ignores lawlessness in the largest province of Punjab?”

The News had approached Raja to get answer of some questions pertaining to BISP, but she was prepared for a complete presentation on the success story of BISP and explained how she worked day and night to turn BISP into a national asset and a shining example for the outside world.

Going by the data of beneficiaries, one finds that the PPP-dominated rural Sindh and Southern Punjab are the major recipient of this scheme, but Farzana Raja has her explanation.

While Larkana, Nawabshah, Shikarpur, Badin, Naushahro Feroze, Multan, Muzzaffargarh, Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur, Peshawar, D I Khan etc are the most blessed regions as far as the BISP largesse at the expense of taxpayers’ money is concerned, but most of the districts of Balochistan have far less number of BISP beneficiaries as compared to the blessed or even the average districts of other provinces. Some of the districts in Balochistan are ignored to the extent that the number of their respective beneficiaries is in single digits.

Farzana Raja rejected any politics involved in this and insisted that on the basis of a survey conducted with the support of international agencies like WB and by following their standards, the poorest of all 7.1 million families have been identified for the BISP programme.

When asked how come Larkana, the hometown of Bhuttos; Nawabshah, the house of President Asif Ali Zardari; Badin, the district of Speaker National Assembly Fahmida Mirza; Multan, the birthplace of former Prime Minister Gilani; and other stronghold of PPP in Sindh and Southern Punjab have emerged as the poorest of all for the BISP programme, she said that it could be ascertained from other official surveys that these districts and regions are the poverty ridden areas.

According to the figures available with The News, Balochistan, which badly requires the attention of the state, all of its district, Awaran has only two (2) beneficiaries, one (1) is cleared but waiting for documentation thus making the total three (3); Panjgur’s figures are 3 (beneficiaries), 1 (cleared) and (total) 4; Khuzdar, 17, 1, 18; Sibbi, 4,687, 5,093, 9,780; Nushki, 3,067, 2,348, 5,415; Killa Saifullah, 1,403, 1,692, 3,095; and Harnai, 2,129, 2,592, 4,721.

On the contrary the blessed district of Punjab, Sindh and KP include Muzaffargarh where beneficiaries are 152,371, pending are 103,188, total are 255,559; Multan, 122,065, 76,954, 199,019; Rajanpur, 86,013, 74,354, 160,367; Dera Ghazi Khan, 75,740, 64,957, 140,697; Rahim Yar Khan, 86,986, 84,363, 171,349; Bahawalpur, 68,554, 58,951, 127,505;

and Faisalabad, 54,593, 47,901, 102,494; Shikarpur, 75,408, 36,667, 112,075; Larkana, 70,319, 29,077, 99,396; Thatta, 106,330, 97,726, 204,056; Nawabshah, 84000, 28000, 122000; Khairpur, 81,673, 97,902, 179,575; Kambar Shahdad Kot, 60,414, 55,821, 116,235; Badin, 92,679, 67,694, 160,373; Shaheed Benazir Abad, 77,782, 68,415, 146,197; Dadu, 64,545, 43,448, 107,993; Jacobabad, 51,496, 46,399, 97,895; Naushahro Feroze, 62,299, 61,842, 124,141; Umer Kot, 57,362, 37,200, 94,562;

Peshawar, 77,405, 41,492, 118,897; D. I. Khan, 60,132, 30,521, 90,653; Swat, 110,566, 24,167, 134,733; Swabi, 57,415, 25,543, 82,958. Swat and certain other district of KPK are seems to have been focused because of military operation.

Addressing these disturbing variations in figures of beneficiaries in the blessed and the non-blessed divisions, she instead claimed that Balochistan is on top in term of beneficiaries.

She said that the province has a total of 900,000 families, half of which (450,000) has been covered in the BISP list of 7.1 million. She made it clear that presently 4.2 million are the recipient of the BISP assistance whereas the remaining 2.9m would start getting assistance as and when their documentation get complete.

According to the official figures as available with The News in 36 districts of Punjab, there are 1,408,930 beneficiaries, 1,177,180 are pending while total are 2,586,110. The district wise details are:

Muzaffargarh, beneficiaries are 152,371, pending are 103,188, total are 255,559;Sahiwal, 24,370, 28,894, 53,264; Leiah, 54,873, 16,578, 71,451; Rajanpur, 86,013, 74,354, 160,367; Chiniot, 14,553, 16,581, 31,134; Sheikhupura, 24,104, 29,746, 53,850; Gujranwala, 44,931, 41,308, 86,239; Nankana Sahib, 15,909, 19,802, 35,711; Kasur, 76,069, 65,006, 141,075; Lodhran, 31,876, 23,467, 55,343; Sialkot, 10,999, 19,167, 30,166; Khanewal, 29,308, 29,488, 58,796; Dera Ghazi Khan, 75,740, 64,957, 140,697; Toba Tek Singh, 14,141, 11,780, 25,921; Rahim Yar Khan, 86,986, 84,363, 171,349; Khushab, 9,317, 4,555, 13,872; Pakpattan, 40,501, 22,575, 63,076; Jhang, 28,691, 26,164, 54,855;

Bahawalnagar, 23,772, 26,050, 49,822; Bhakkar, 30,004, 15,323, 45,327; Lahore, 49,545, 82,407, 131,952; Mianwali, 29,980, 6,854, 36,834; Vehari, 25,157, 26,742, 51,899; Chakwal, 14,674, 7,424, 22,098; Mandi Bahauddin, 11,130, 9,464, 20,594; Gujrat, 17,091, 18,511, 35,602; Bahawalpur, 68,554, 58,951, 127,505; Okara, 36,847, 38,771, 75,618; Jhelum, 7,097, 5,372, 12,469; Faisalabad, 54,593, 47,901, 102,494; Rawalpindi, 27,858, 23,097, 50,955; Attock, 11,075, 8,714, 19,789; Narowal, 10,231, 10,883, 21,114; Sargodha, 39,333, 24,476, 63,809;

Multan, 122,065, 76,954, 199,019; Hafizabad, 9,172, 7,313, 16,485.

In 27 districts of Sindh, there are 1,352,913 beneficiaries, 1,143,228 are pending while total are 2,496,141. The district wise details are:

Karachi South, beneficiaries are 7,581, pending are 10,005, total are 17,586; Sukkur, 44,479, 48,994, 93,473; Karachi East, 13,303, 29,152, 42,455; Sanghar, 78,128, 42,995, 121,123; Ghotki, 60,800, 47,490, 108,290; Hyderabad, 46,099, 44,627, 90,726; Karachi Malir, 12,760, 21,994, 34,754; Tando Allahyar, 35,160, 27,861, 63,021; Shikarpur, 75,408, 36,667, 112,075; Larkana, 70,319, 29,077, 99,396; Thatta, 106,330, 97,726, 204,056; Khairpur, 81,673, 97,902, 179,575; Karachi West, 24,835, 31,022, 55,857; Kambar Shahdad Kot, 60,414, 55,821, 116,235; Kashmore, 27,722, 29,876, 57,598; Matiari, 38,595, 32,115, 70,710; Badin, 92,679, 67,694, 160,373; Karachi Central, 6,993, 15,579, 22,572; Tharparkar, 53,895, 32,493, 86,388; Shaheed Benazir Abad, 77,782, 68,415, 146,197; Dadu, 64,545, 43,448, 107,993; Tando Muhammad Khan, 28,513, 34,335, 62,848; Jacobabad, 51,496, 46,399, 97,895; Naushahro Feroze, 62,299, 61,842, 124,141; Umer Kot, 57,362, 37,200, 94,562; Jamshoro, 32,174, 27,569, 59,743; Mirpur Khas, 41,569, 24,930, 66,499.

In 29 districts and provincially controlled Tribal Areas of KP, there are 879,528 beneficiaries, 419,186 are pending while total are 1,298,714. The details include in Lower Dir, beneficiaries are 46,499, pending 25,157, total are 71,656; Lakki Marwat, 29,701, 11,390, 41,091; Buner, 40,242, 14,676, 54,918; Malakand P Area, 24,635, 8,403, 33,038; Kohat, 24,962, 15,652, 40,614; Haripur, 9,384, 4,484, 13,868; T A Adj Peshawar, 2,864, 2,688, 5,552; Peshawar, 77,405, 41,492, 118,897; D I Khan, 60,132, 30,521, 90,653; Tank, 20,058, 12,648, 32,706; Swat, 110,566, 24,167, 134,733; Swabi, 57,415, 25,543, 82,958; Hangu, 13,269, 8,633, 21,902; T.A.Adj.Lakki Marwat, 39, 36, 75; T A Adj Bannu, 2, 1, 3; Kohistan, 13,200, 9,413, 22,613; Nowshera, 28,543, 13,468, 42,011; Mardan, 69,140, 33,036, 102,176; T A Adj D.I.Khan, 2,364, 5,707, 8,071; Shangla, 40,843, 9,363, 50,206; Karak, 14,062, 1,864, 15,926; Charsadda, 52,629, 24,124, 76,753; Chitral, 12,828, 9,075, 21,903; T A Adj Kohat, 706, 1,075, 1,781; Abbottabad, 8,565, 4,168, 12,733; Mansehra, 48,063, 26,127, 74,190; Batagram, 11,872, 1,545, 13,417; Upper Dir, 33,817, 35,277, 69,094; Bannu, 25,723, 19,453, 45,176.

In 30 districts of Balochistan, there are 167,350 beneficiaries, 254,190 are pending while total are 421,540. The detail is: Gwadar, beneficiaries are 8,046, pending are 4,976, total are 13,022; Sherani, 2,887, 2,507, 5,394; Nasirabad, 9,199, 17,135, 26,334; Kharan, 2,780, 2,888, 5,668; Jhal Magsi, 2,360, 7,204, 9,564; Killa Abdullah, 6,534, 22,437, 28,971; Pishin, 10,901, 16,665, 27,566; Killa Saifullah, 1,403, 1,692, 3,095; Harnai, 2,129, 2,592, 4,721; Lasbela, 19,124, 20,878, 40,002; Barkhan, 4,762, 4,584, 9,346; Musakhel, 4,070, 3,150, 7,220; Kachhi, 6,058, 28,807, 34,865; Zhob, 6,638, 6,134, 12,772; Ziarat, 3,080, 4,422, 7,502; Jaffarabad, 21,901, 30,797, 52,698; Kalat, 6,174, 10,012, 16,186; Mastung, 1,772, 1,944, 3,716; Khuzdar, 17, 1, 18; Sibbi, 4,687, 5,093, 9,780; Washuk, 2,142, 3,829, 5,971; Dera Bugti, 2,886, 5,708, 8,594; Panjgur, 3, 1, 4; Nushki, 3,067, 2,348, 5,415; Chagai, 4,148, 5,402, 9,550; Loralai, 5,653, 17,445, 23,098; Kohlu, 1,172, 3,599, 4,771; Quetta, 10,649, 12,415, 23,064; Kech, 13,106, 9,524, 22,630; Awaran, 2, 1, 3.

In federal capital, there are 7,155 beneficiaries, 7,780 are pending while total are 14,935. In 6 agencies of tribal areas, there are 47,343 beneficiaries, 45,259 are pending while total are 92,602. In Khyber Agency, beneficiaries are 20,298, pending are 13,956, total are 34,254; Bajaur Agency, 20,711, 24,442, 45,153; Orakzai Agency, 22, 5, 27; Kurram Agency, 4,945, 5,448, 10,393; Mohmand Agency, 1,327, 1,392, 2,719; S Waziristan Agency, 40, 16, 56.

In 7 districts of Gilgat Biltastan, there are 30,762 beneficiaries, 14,339 are pending while total are 45,101. In Ghizer, beneficiaries are 2,630, pending are 907, total are3,537; Astore, 1,976, 752, 2,728; Ghanche, 2,230, 714, 2,944; Gilgit, 5,329, 2,102, 7,431; Hunza Nagar, 2,052, 958, 3,010; Diamir, 8,339, 6,239, 14,578; Baltistan, 8,206,2,667, 10,873.

In 10 districts of Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), there are 80,634 beneficiaries, 32,953 are pending while total are 113,587. In Sudhnoti, beneficiaries are 5,241, pending are 2,283, total are 7,524; Bhimber, 3,744, 1,760, 5,504; Muzaffarabad, 16,993, 5,982, 22,975; Neelum, 12,744, 2,756, 15,500; Poonch, 4,665, 1,105, 5,770; Haveli(Kahuta), 7,018, 3,013, 10,031; Kotli, 10,103, 6,599, 16,702; Bagh, 7,762, 2,484, 10,246; Mirpur, 5,350, 3,068, 8,418; Hattian Bala, 7,014, 3,903, 10,917.