Islamabad
\nThe Senate Standing Committee on Poverty Alleviation & Social Safety, chaired by Senator Sardar Al Haj Muhammad Umer, convened today in Islamabad to review the performance, projects and finances of BISP and Bait-ul-Maal.
\nThe Senate Standing Committee on Poverty Alleviation & Social Safety, chaired by Senator Sardar Al Haj Muhammad Umer, convened today to review the performance, projects, and finances of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) and Pakistan Bait-ul-Maal. The meeting was attended by Senators Dost Ali Jeesar and Rubina Qaim Khani, while Senator Rubina Khalid, Chairperson BISP, also participated.
\nBriefing the Committee on deputationists serving in BISP, Senator Rubina Khalid informed that a total of 11 officers of Grade-19 and above, primarily from the Education Department, are serving on deputation. She clarified that no officers of the said grades from the Health Department are serving in BISP. Expressing reservations, she stated that such practices create unavoidable gaps in parent departments and weaken institutional memory when deputationists return.
\nShe further highlighted that although BISP intends to recruit new employees to enhance its functionality, restrictions from the Finance Division due to financial constraints have delayed fresh appointments. The Committee unanimously recommended the summoning of Finance Minister to the next meeting to deliberate on the availability of sufficient funds for new recruitments in BISP.
\nResponding to questions regarding the registration process in BISP, the Chairperson BISP clarified that eligibility is determined through defined poverty parameters, leaving no room for external recommendations or interference. She emphasized that BISP is internationally recognized as one of the most transparent social safety programmes and several countries shown their intention of seeking Pakistan\u2019s expertise in establishing similar initiatives.
\nThe Chairman Committee appreciated the BISP\u2019s efforts and stressed for the expansion of programme to all corners of Pakistan. He affirmed that BISP is not linked to any political party, declaring it a national programme.
\nThe Committee was further briefed on the Benazir Nashonuma Programme (BNP), implemented in collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP). The initiative provides nutritious food, healthcare, and quarterly check-ups for children, leading to a reported 6.4% reduction in food scarcity.
\nAdditionally, the Committee was apprised of the recently launched Benazir Hunarmand Programme, which offers vocational training courses of three to six months for individuals holding matric certificate and bearing the age up to 35 years, exclusively from BISP beneficiary families.
\nThe Committee also discussed matters concerning Pakistan Bait-ul-Maal, particularly advance payments made for products without delivery. The concerned officials informed that an inquiry is underway and pledged to submit the report within a month. The Chairman directed that the process be expedited and the report submitted at the earliest. He further recommended that the Finance Ministry extend full support to both BISP and Pakistan Bait-ul-Maal for strengthening human resource capacity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad The Senate Standing Committee on Poverty Alleviation & Social Safety, chaired by Senator Sardar Al Haj Muhammad Umer, convened today in Islamabad to review the performance, projects and finances of BISP and Bait-ul-Maal. The Senate Standing Committee on Poverty Alleviation & Social Safety, chaired by Senator Sardar Al Haj Muhammad Umer, convened today to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":484585,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-505982","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national"},"yoast_head":"\n