In a shocking discovery, Public Accounts Committee (PAC), while discussing Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division (PASSD) report 2019-2020, learned that 23% of 92 Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) recipients in 2018-2019 were dead.
At the same time, 53% were labeled “ghost beneficiaries” due to the absence of their data. PAC revealed that over Rs. 19 billion in funds were given to people outside the nominated districts.
According to the Secretary of BISP, ghost beneficiaries are the result of widespread migration, and fund distribution has improved since the introduction of biometric verification. He also conceded that the biometric system is sometimes abused.
Previously, the Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Chairman of the BISP, Shazia Marri, announced that the transgender community is now eligible for BISP. She described transgender persons as the vulnerable segment of society, stating that they face extreme economic and cultural challenges.
Chairman BISP said that 50,000 transgender persons are registered with BISP and they must also register with NADRA to benefit from the program.
Via Express Tribune