President stresses need to enhance BISP outreach, number of beneficiaries

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has underscored the need for enhancing the outreach of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) as well as the number of beneficiaries for the uplift of underprivileged sections of society.

He asked the BISP chairperson to establish an office at Gwadar so that the deserving people of the area could benefit from the programme. The president expressed these views during a briefing given by the BISP Chairperson Mrs Rubina Khalid at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Monday.

Taking note of the 0.45% service charges by the banks from BISP cardholders, President Zardari said that the service charges needed to be waived off, and in this regard, the State Bank of Pakistan should be approached to ask banks for opening accounts for BISP beneficiaries. He said that the new payment system would also protect BISP beneficiaries from exploitation.

President Zardari also called for engaging donors and the private sector to support BISP in its endeavours to provide scholarships to the maximum number of deserving students. During the briefing, the president was informed about the core initiatives taken by BISP, including the Benazir Kafalat Programme, Benazir Taleemi Wazaif Programme, BISP Scholarships for Undergraduates Programme and Benazir Nashounuma Programme.

Rubina Khalid informed that Rs598.718 billion had been allocated for BISP during the ongoing fiscal year. She said that Benazir Kafalat was the flagship programme of BISP, providing unconditional cash transfers to eligible women and transgender persons across Pakistan.

It was highlighted that Rs461 billion had been allocated for the Benazir Kafalat Programme, during FY 2024-25, for 9.3 million eligible families. In order to enhance school enrolment and provide education to children from low-income households, she informed that Rs77.18 billion had been allocated for the Benazir Taleemi Wazaif which would benefit 9.7 million children.

It was further highlighted that Rs1.7 billion had been allocated to provide 10,000 scholarships to students under the BISP Scholarships for Undergraduates Programme. The meeting was told that Special Nutrition Food was also being provided to 2 million pregnant and lactating women (PLW) and their infants to address the issues of malnutrition and stunting.

BISP chairperson also informed that during the floods in 2022, BISP disbursed Rs70 billion to 2.7 million flood-affected families across Pakistan. President Zardari appreciated BISP for providing monetary relief to the deserving and underprivileged strata of society.

Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari has called for greater representation of women and minorities in government jobs to enhance their inclusion in the mainstream of society. The president expressed these views while talking to a delegation of FPSC, led by the senior member of FPSC Akbar Hussain Durrani, at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Monday. The president said the FPSC should find ways and means to further improve the civil service recruitment process to select the right person for the right job.

Talking to the delegation, President Zardari said that FPSC had an important responsibility of recruiting civil servants to improve service delivery and promote good governance in the country. He urged the need to make the recruitment process more efficient and transparent by adopting modern technology and new methods, particularly computerized testing, that would help in the selection of qualified and efficient civil servants. He said that candidates securing high marks during the written examination should be fairly evaluated.

Senior member of FPSC Akbar Hussain Durrani briefed the president about the role and function of FPSC in recruiting government servants. He also highlighted certain issues being faced by FPSC. President Zardari assured the delegation of his support and guidance in the resolution of problems and improving the recruitment system.