The National Assembly Standing Committee on Poverty Alleviation & Social Safety has expressed its annoyance over prolonged delay in appointment of Managing Director Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal (PBM). The issue was highlighted in briefing given by Ministry of Poverty Alleviation & Social Safety at second meeting of the Committee held under the chair of MNA Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur at the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) Headquarters in Islamabad on Monday. The Committee members unanimously urged the Federal Government to expedite the appointment of the PBM Chief. “The delay has impacted hundreds of deserving applicants who are awaiting PBM’s financial assistance, which remains pending due to the vacancy,” remarked the Chairman Mr. Talpur. The meeting began with a comprehensive briefing on the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) by Chairperson BISP, Ms. Rubina Khalid, and senior BISP officials. The Committee was informed about BISP’s pivotal role in maintaining a dynamic National Social Economic Registry (NSER) of beneficiary data and its integration with other federal and provincial entities.

The Committee learned that, in addition to BISP’s Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) – Kafaalat Programme, there were two Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programmes currently operational: the Education – Taleemi Wazaif Programme and the Health and Nutrition – Nashonuma Programme. The NA Body recommended that BISP should enhance its communication with beneficiaries by leveraging online and social media platforms for announcing tranche disbursements, rather than relying solely on traditional communication methods. Regarding issues of fraudulent messaging about BISP, the Committee expressed dissatisfaction with the current measures and recommended immediate actions to address the misinformation campaign through an extensive social media campaign and advanced technological solutions to block such messages. The Committee commended Chairperson BISP, Ms. Khalid, for her vision to revise the criteria for BISP beneficiaries to include women who have never been married.

The Committee also praised her initiative for achieving poverty graduation through a skills development programme targeted at orphans belonging from BISP beneficiary families. Additionally, the Committee decided to invite representatives from the State Bank of Pakistan to future meetings to discuss challenges related to implementing direct payments to beneficiaries. The Committee also emphasized the need to prioritize service provision to the poor and destitute in remote areas of Balochistan, newly merged areas of KP, and rural regions of South Punjab and Sindh. The meeting was attended by Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur (Chairman of the Committee), Mir Khan Muhammad Jamali (MNA), Ms. Tahira Aurangzeb (MNA), Nawabzada Iftikhar Ahmed Khan Babar (MNA), Ms. Aasia Ishaque Siddiqui (MNA), Mr. Mohammad Ilyas Choudhary (MNA), Mr. Muhammad Bashir Khan (MNA), Mr. Shafqat Abbas (MNA), Mr. Jamshaid Ahmad (MNA), and Mr. Misbah Uddin (MNA). Also in attendance were Chairperson BISP Ms. Rubina Khalid, Secretary BISP Mr. Amer Ali Ahmad, Senior Joint Secretary Ministry of PA&SS Mr. Ahmad Mukarram, and other officials from the Ministry and its affiliated departments.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan