Islamabad: The Standing Committee of the National Assembly on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety convened at the Benazir Income Support Program Headquarters to address critical issues, notably the prolonged vacancy of the Managing Director at Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal (PBM), which has delayed essential financial assistance for hundreds.

According to National Assembly of Pakistan, the Committee’s meeting chaired by Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur, MNA, brought to light concerns over the non-appointment of the PBM chief, stressing the adverse effects on the disbursement of funds to deserving applicants. The Committee unanimously called for the Federal Government to hasten this appointment to mitigate the impacts on those dependent on PBM’s support.

During the session, Chairperson BISP, Ms. Rubina Khalid, along with senior officials, briefed the Committee on the operations of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), highlighting its role in maintaining a dynamic National Social Economic Registry (NSER) of beneficiary data. The briefing covered BISP’s major initiatives, including the Unconditional Cash Transfer – Kafaalat Programme and two Conditional Cash Transfer programs focused on education and health.

The Committee expressed concerns over fraudulent messaging regarding BISP benefits and urged the implementation of a robust social media campaign and technological measures to combat misinformation. Furthermore, they applauded Ms. Khalid’s initiatives to broaden BISP’s beneficiary criteria and her efforts toward poverty graduation through skills development for orphans from beneficiary families.

Looking ahead, the Committee plans to involve representatives from the State Bank of Pakistan to discuss direct payment challenges to beneficiaries. There was also a strong emphasis on improving service provision to the most disadvantaged segments in remote areas of Balochistan, KP, and rural regions of South Punjab and Sindh.