Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) Chairperson and Minister of State Marvi Memon said on Saturday that the BISP had been supporting all the initiatives and products meant to alleviate poverty and uplift the status of women in the country.
She was addressing ‘DISCON 2016 RI District 3272 Pakistan Conference of Commitment’ organised by Rotary Club International at a local hotel.
Rotary Club International Pakistan District Governor Sajid Bhatti, District Governor-Elect Mir Arif Ali, Rana Nasir Mehmood from Rotary Club Gujranwala and a large number of people attended the conference.
The BISP is providing service and financial support to 2.5 million poor families across Pakistan, Marvi said, adding that the government’s mission is to reduce this number by ensuring that the poor families are enabled to become self-supporting and get rid of poverty.
Marvi Memon said the programme was running successfully due to effective and comprehensive economic measures taken by Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. International financial institutions were all praise for better financial management of Pakistan, she added.
The state minister said the poor segments of society would not have been able to survive had they not been supported through the programme. The BISP would conduct a fresh survey of the poor in the country on modern lines and it would be completed by the end of 2017, she added.
Marvi informed the participants that the BISP was also introducing biometric system for distribution of its monetary support so as to eliminate the ATM mafia. She said the BISP was also focusing on promoting rural handicrafts and woman entrepreneurs by taking steps for selling their products online as well as bringing them to big markets which would bring a revolution in the rural life.
She also offered the Rotary International Club to use the credible database of the BISP in its philanthropic operations, adding that the BISP would support all those initiative and products meant to alleviate poverty and welfare of women.
“We want to give our women dignity, empowerment and meaning to life,” she maintained.
Later, talking to journalists, she said the BISP had enhanced quarterly financial support to Rs 4,700 from Rs 4,500 per family.
To a question on Women Protection Act, Marvi said reservations of all stakeholders were being removed and it would ensure better results, asserting that she had complete trust in Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab Assembly, which would ensure a better legislation in this regard.
Earlier, Rotary Club’s Sajid Bhatti told the participants that Rotary Club International was working in 200 countries and had 1.2 million members worldwide, while in Pakistan the club had around 4,000 members and it had two districts (regions) i.e. Khyber Paktunkhwa-Punjab and Sindh-Balochistan.
He said Rotary Club mainly focused on six areas of work for the uplift of the poor segments of society. The club’s areas of work included education and literacy; maternal and child health; peace and conflict resolution; water and sanitation; polio eradication; and economic and community development.
"Alleviating poverty". Sounds good but the program has become so controversial and corrupt that even people in the Interior of Sind are complaining. They still are waiting for Roti Kapra aur Makan in four decades. So far these programs are limited to photo-sessions, nothing is going to change.
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