ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan will visit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday.

During his visit, the prime minister will review the performance of the provincial government.

He is expected to have a briefing on the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transport scheme and give a deadline to the authorities concerned for its inauguration.

Mr Khan will also hold a meeting on prospects of tourism in the province with special reference to some official rest houses and guest houses.

The prime minister will distribute Kafalat cards among deserving families at a ceremony.

Under the Kafalat programme, a stipend of Rs2,000 per month is given to the most deserving and poorest families across the country through a digital payment system based on transparent mechanism.

The programme commenced on Jan 31 in Lakki Marwat, Mohmand Agency, Haripur and Charsadda districts of KP with registration of families after completion of Ehsaas Natio­nal Socio-economic Registry survey.

The National Database and Registration Authority has set up registration desks in all tehsils of these districts.

The deserving families have started receiving the Rs2,000 stipend from February 2020.

The programme will be launched in other districts by the end of this year.

All existing eligible beneficiaries of the Benazir Income Support Prog­ramme in KP will continue to be part of the Kafalat Programme.

Only the destitute persons are ­eligible to take benefit under this programme.

Government servants, their spouses, taxpayers, car owners and people with history of multiple foreign travels are not eligible.

Women will draw money from point of sales agents and biometric ATMs of Alfalah Bank. It is for the first time in the county’s history that women will receive the stipend through biometric ATMs.

They will no more be hostage to point of sales agents and touts who used to deduct money from them fraudulently.

The Kafalat identification card has a QR code, which can be read by any Smartphone or off-the shelf scanner. This can enable Kafalat to expand its horizon of support for the poor families.

Women will also get bank accounts and better access to mobile phones.

Seven million women will receive the Kafalat cards.

The government has also launched a health cards scheme which will enable a family to receive medical treatment worth Rs720,000 in a year.

Published in Dawn, March 9th, 2020