Hundreds of officials embezzled BISP funds, PAC panel told

ISLAMABAD: A sub-committee of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was Thursday informed that hundreds of government officers and bureaucrats had embezzled funds meant for the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) beneficiaries.

The sub-committee directed that criminal charges be filed against the officials involved, ranging from Grade 17 to Grade 22.

Moin Amir Pirzada chaired the sub-committee meeting that reviewed audit objections relating to the Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division, Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), and Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal. The committee was informed that government employees, pensioners and even their spouses had illegally received BISP payments.

Audit officials said government servants were not eligible to benefit from the programme.

The convener questioned why recoveries had not been made so far. The BISP secretary responded that the beneficiaries belonged to different departments and the organisation lacked a recovery mechanism. He disclosed that 85 officers of Grade 20 and 630 officers of Grade 19 were among those who received payments, adding that even Grade 22 officers were on the list and most of them belonged to the provincial cadres.

Expressing outrage, committee members asked why no mechanism for recovery had been developed so far. The secretary of the division admitted that the department lacked such a mechanism.

“Don’t they feel ashamed of misappropriating a mere seven thousand rupees?” remarked a member in anger. Officials from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) told the committee that 879 FIRs had been registered and 292 arrests made, while challans had been submitted to the courts. The committee directed that criminal charges be framed in cases involving officers above Grade 16, and such individuals should be removed from service.

The meeting also reviewed audit objections regarding payments made to deceased persons. Audit officials pointed out that Rs15.06 million had been disbursed to individuals who had died, some even before 2008.

The BISP secretary explained that in 94 percent of the 841 cases, the beneficiaries were later found to be alive. The committee instructed verification of the matter. In another audit briefing, it was revealed that BISP had failed to recover Rs607 million in penalties from banks that did not de-credit dormant beneficiary accounts as per agreement terms.

The matter was deferred for discussion in the next meeting. The committee also examined an objection against Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal, which allegedly made irregular payments of Rs156 million in excess house rent allowance between 2019 and 2022 by unilaterally raising the allowance to 80 percent.

The committee deferred further proceedings on this case until additional investigations are completed.