Sajid Irfan

The government has planned to increase the number of beneficiaries of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) to alleviate poverty in Pakistan, WealthPK reports.

Poverty has become a major problem in low and middle-income countries owing to different reasons. The eradication of poverty is quite difficult in backward and developing countries. Pakistan is a low-income country where the ratio of poor is increasing. However, the government has planned to provide relief to its citizens and reduce poverty by increasing the number of beneficiaries of BISP.

An official of BISP told WealthPK that due to the overall hike in prices in the international and national markets, the number of poor people increased significantly. He said that most people could not meet their needs with their limited resources. He added that people were forced to borrow money from others to fulfil their daily needs.

He said that the BISP set a target to increase the number of beneficiaries to nine million by June 2023. The number of BISP beneficiaries increased from 7.2 million to 8.6 million between May and October 2022. The current number of registered beneficiaries of BISP is around 8.6 million.

The official said that the BISP authorities recently approved a policy to assist the transgender community. “They are also citizens of Pakistan and it is the duty of the government to protect their rights,” he added.

He said that due to high fuel prices, the BISP disbursed almost Rs17.35 billion among 8.6 million people under the targeted petroleum subsidy programme from May to October 2022. The initiative was launched to assist the poor and vulnerable segments of society. They have also been provided with an additional cash subsidy of Rs 2,000 each.

The official said that increase in fuel prices was a major cause of inflation in Pakistan. He said that increase in transportation charges and fares led to an unprecedented price hike in the country. He added that poor people were finding it hard to make both ends meet.

“Under the flood relief programme, the government has distributed nearly Rs70 billion among 2.6 million affected people during August and October 2022. In addition, emergency cash relief of Rs 25,000 was given to each of the flood-hit families,” he said.

He said that a total of Rs 15 billion was distributed under education programs through BISP among 1.8 million children. The programme was launched for the enrolment of out-of-school children. Their parents are too poor to afford their educational expenses. The programme assists the poorest and most marginalised rural households and communities across the country.

The official said the recent devastating floods during the monsoon season also affected a large number of people in the country. The floods destroyed many houses and entire villages completely and left 1700 people dead.

“People have lost their livestock and animals. The flood-hit people have been forced to leave their homes,” he told WealthPK.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk