PESHAWAR: Special assistant to the prime minister on social protection and poverty alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar on Monday said Prime Minister Imran Khan would launch the ambitious Ehsas Kafalat Programme on Jan 31 for the socio-economic empowerment of poor women across the country.

Addressing a presser here after inaugurating biometric system for the Benazir Income Support Programme’s beneficiaries, Dr Sania said Rs2,000 stipend would be paid to registered women under the Ehsas Kafalat Programme through a digital system.

She said the stipend would be paid to BISP beneficiaries through the two leading private banks to avoid complications.

She said the beneficiaries would be given payment through ATMs under a transparent mechanism and number of such points was being increased so that they could get stipend amount in a dignified way in their respective areas.

The special assistant to the prime minister said the programme would be launched in a phase manner and that in the first phase, the Ehsas Kafalat Programme was to be launched in Lakki Marwat, Haripur, Charsadda and Mohmand districts.

She said the initiative would focus the women of all districts, including those living in merged tribal ones.

Dr Sania said the premier earnestly desired to improve the socio-economic conditions of the downtrodden segments of society through a multidimensional Ehsaas programme.

She said the incidence of poverty in merged areas was higher than provinces’ but a comprehensive survey would be launched soon to identity poor people.

The special assistant to the prime minister said the names of 820,165 undeserving beneficiaries were removed from the BISP database and of such people, 140,000 were the employees of Pakistan Railways, Post Office and BISP.

She said the lists of all such government employees were sent to the federal and provincial governments for disciplinary action. Dr Sania also said four BISP officers were dismissed from service, while show-cause notices were issued to two others for the purpose.

She said a langar khana (soup kitchen) was being established at the Peshawar General Bus Stand after the provision of land by the government for the poor people and commuters.

Ajmal Wazir, a spokesman for the KP government, said the Ehsaas programme would largely benefit the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including merged tribal areas.

He said the Sehat Insaf Cards were being provided to the residents of merged areas to provide quality treatment to poor patients in line with the premier’s vision.

The spokesman said shelter homes were established in Peshawar and other districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the poor people were given free food, accommodations and transport service.

He said the government had simplified the BISP registration system to provide financial assistance to the poor people in a dignified manner.

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2020