Federal Minister and Chairperson Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), Farzana Raja met with Turkish President H E. Mr Abdullah Gul at the presidential palace in Ankara and handed over a special letter of the President of Pakistan Mr Asif Ali Zardari. Farzana Raja was leading a high level delegation comprising Secretary BISP Sher Khan, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Turkey Muhammad Haroon Shaukat and senior officials of BISP and Pakistan Embassy.
On the occasion, President Gul congratulated the Pakistani leadership on launching a programme like BISP and said that the programme was a role model for the international community for poverty alleviation. He said that the BISP was the best homage to the name and legacy of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. “International support that BISP is receiving from top financial institutions and world donors is reflective of the transparency of BISP,” said President Gul. He referred to pledges made during FoDP conference in Tokyo and ensured that Turkey would fulfill all its commitment.
He also promised that Turkey would contribute positively towards BISP on a continuous basis. Abdullah Gul on the occasion also requested Farzana Raja to convey his warm greetings to President Asif Ali Zardari. Farzana Raja said Pakistan is facing many challenges including poverty and terrorism which are interlinked. “The best response was through targeted social safety net in the shape of Benazir Income Support Programme,” she said. The Chairperson gave a detailed briefing about BISP. She informed that under the programme, over 5 million families are being provided cash grant and this figure will reach 7 million with the completion of ongoing Poverty Survey. She also briefed the Turkish President about the poverty survey, which is the first of its kind in South Asia. In addition, these families are being provided life and health insurance, microfinance and technical and vocational training. “With the support of World Bank and DFID, BISP is soon launching a conditional cash transfer to encourage poor families to send their children to school,” informed Farzana Raja.
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