Complaint against BISP: Ombudsman office concerned at non-implementation of order

ABBOTTABAD: The federal ombudsman’s secretariat has expressed concern over the non-implementation of its findings in a case related to the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).

The federal ombudsman secretary said that BISP had yet to take the necessary steps to comply despite clear directives from the president to execute the order within 30 days.

The BISP has been using delaying tactics and has failed to make the outstanding payment for training services provided to its beneficiaries in 2012-2013.

The case, filed by a training institute namely IDEALS pertains to an outstanding payment for training services provided to BISP beneficiaries.

The federal ombudsman had directed BISP to make the payment according to its standard operating procedures. However, BISP has been using delaying tactics, including demanding unnecessary documents such as attendance registers and ISO certificates.

The federal ombudsman’s secretariat has expressed concern over BISP’s non-compliance and has initiated further proceedings to compel implementation. A show-cause notice may be issued to the secretary BISP as per the regulations.

In a decision, the federal ombudsman has directed BISP to pay an outstanding amount of Rs1,609,268 to Integrated Development, Empowerment and Advocacy for Livelihood (IDEALS), a company that provided training services to BISP beneficiaries in 2012-2013.

The federal ombudsman had initially directed BISP to make the payment in April 2023, but BISP appealed the decision to the President of Pakistan.

After reviewing the case, the President rejected BISP’s appeal and directed the agency to implement the federal ombudsman’s order within 30 days.

Malik Saeed Akhtar, Secretary IDEALS, stated in a press briefing that BISP had been unnecessarily delaying the payment, and IDEALS management decided to challenge the illegality in court.

He said, “We urge the authorities to take immediate action to ensure that BISP complies with the federal ombudsman’s order and releases the outstanding payment. This is essential for upholding the rule of law and ensuring accountability in government agencies.”

He said that at least 32 service providers of Waseela-e-Rozgar scheme have been running from pillar to post to get their outstanding dues that haven’t been paid to them since 2012-13.

The management of the programme has allegedly shown reluctance to meet the representatives of their own partners.

The Waseela-e-Rozgar programme launched in September 2011 was aimed at imparting vocational training to 70,000 beneficiaries. They said that so far 57,817 beneficiaries had been trained under the programme. The overall estimated financial liability against the Waseela-e-Rozgar programme stands at millions who have not been paid since the closure of the programme after the end of the PPP rule.

The scheme was launched to impart vocational skills to the BISP beneficiaries. It utilised the services of private sector trainers to impart skills to the trainees.