Islamabad: First Lady Bibi Asifa Bhutto Zardari attended a briefing on the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) at Parliament House, where she was updated on the programme’s progress and reforms aimed at benefiting deserving families across Pakistan.
According to Press Information Department, the briefing was conducted by Chairperson BISP Senator Rubina Khalid and Secretary BISP Amir Ali Ahmed. The First Lady was informed of the allocation of Rs 716 billion for the financial year 2025-26, with a proposed budget of Rs 844 billion for 2026-27. The Benazir Kafaalat Programme currently provides quarterly cash assistance of Rs 14,500 to 12 million households, with an increase to Rs 18,000 planned for January 2027.
The Benazir Taleemi Wazaif Programme offers educational support to 12.4 million children, contingent on a minimum 70 percent school attendance. The Benazir Nashonuma Programme assists approximately two million pregnant and lactating women and children under two, with 52,000 adolescent girls included in a pilot phase. The Benazir Hunarmand Programme, initiated by President Asif Ali Zardari and the First Lady, offers free skills training, with over 7,000 individuals enrolled.
The digital front sees more than 10 million beneficiaries linked to the formal financial system via Digital Social Protection Wallets, supported by the distribution of over 8.5 million free SIMs and digital and financial literacy training for over 410,000 beneficiaries. The National Socio-Economic Registry holds data on 38.7 million households, with the recent recertification exercise identifying 3.5 million new eligible families.
The First Lady was apprised of a World Bank study indicating BISP’s coverage of over 10.3 million families, accounting for approximately 24 percent of Pakistani households. The study highlighted the programme’s economic impact, generating Rs 2.34 in real income for every rupee disbursed and supporting 1.66 million full-time equivalent jobs. BISP’s economic activity returns an estimated Rs 174 billion annually to the national exchequer.
In her remarks, Bibi Asifa Bhutto Zardari emphasized the programme’s alignment with the vision of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto to support vulnerable segments of society. She praised efforts to enhance transparency, financial inclusion, and service delivery, underscoring the importance of social protection programmes in enabling women’s participation in economic and social life.
Chairperson BISP Senator Rubina Khalid reiterated that BISP, launched by President Asif Ali Zardari in 2008, embodies the commitment to dignified social protection and is evolving into a comprehensive digital system. Deputy Speaker National Assembly Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah, MNA Ms. Shazia Marri, and MNA Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur were also in attendance.