Federal Minister and Chairperson Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) Ms Farzana Raja called on President Asif Ali Zardari at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Tuesday and briefed the President on all initiatives under the BISP flagship including Benazir Smart Card, mobile phone banking, programs for health and education services, imparting training for jobs, accident insurance and interest free financing for the poor and needy.
The President inquired in particular about the progress in providing educational and vocational training and other services to the people of tribal areas and Balochistan. Ms Farzana Raja apprised the President that 0.4 million deserving families from Balochistan have been included in BISP and the poverty survey had already been completed in the tribal areas.
Appreciating BISP’s progress, the president told Farzana Raja to develop the program into comprehensive social protection net along with a platform for women empowerment.
Farzana Raja on the occasion explained to the President how the BISP had been developed into a non partisan and non political poverty alleviation program whose beneficiaries were selected on the basis of transparent poverty survey and not any political or partisan consideration. She said that the poverty score card developed by BISP is a transparent and impartial survey of the poor through an internationally recognized procedure. The President advised Chairperson BISP to take up the challenge of seeking the involvement of the private sector as well international donors for broadening the resource base of the Programme and extending benefits to more and more people.
The Chairman BISP apprised the President of technical and financial support received from various international organizations including the World Bank, USAID, DFID and ADB.
She concluded that foreign governments had also evinced interest in replicating the program in their respective countries.