• Aseefa Bhutto slams rejection of programme data to compensate flood victims
• Azma Bokhari accuses PPP of indulging in ‘flood politics’
• PPP leaders lash out at JI chief’s BISP ‘fraud’ remarks

LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: The war of words between coalition partners PML-N and PPP escalated on Wednesday after the former questioned the transparency of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), while the latter accused its senior partner of showing an “irresponsible attitude” by refusing to use the programme’s data to compensate flood-affected people in Punjab.

Several PPP leaders criticised the PML-N for “attempting to make the BISP controversial”. On Wednesday, PPP’s Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari — the first lady and a member of the National Assembly — entered the debate, questioning what she called the PML-N’s “unfounded concerns” in refusing to use BISP data to provide relief to flood victims in Punjab.

“Over four million people have been impacted by the unprecedented floods in Punjab. The Benazir Income Support Programme is the fastest and most effective way to distribute relief. Not utilising one of the state’s key organisations, which has both the data and the capacity to deliver assistance, would be irresponsible,” Aseefa wrote on X.

Senior PPP leaders Nadim Afzal Chan and Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed — while addressing a press conference in Islamabad — also lambasted the Punjab government for rejecting BISP data for compensating flood victims.

Taking a jibe at Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, Mr Chan said that regardless of whose picture appeared on the relief package, the flood-affected people, especially farmers, should be compensated forthwith. He also advised CM Maryam to consult farmers regarding the compensation package.

Maryam Nawaz has often been criticised for putting her picture on every Punjab government project.

Mr Chan said the Punjab government was shirking its responsibility of helping poor farmers affected by recent floods. He stressed that BISP was the only welfare initiative in Pakistan that had won international recognition.

Chaudhry Manzoor underscored that only BISP had the infrastructure to reach down to the union council level. “Apart from BISP, no other mechanism has such reach,” he claimed.

PPP Vice President Sherry Rehman, too, strongly advocated the use of BISP for compensating flood victims during a Senate committee meeting. BISP is a national safety net programme in Pakistan that provides cash assistance to poor and vulnerable families, particularly targeting women.

PML-N reaction

Responding to the criticism, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said in a statement on Wednesday that some elements of the PPP had done nothing except indulge in “flood politics” and point-scoring.

“The PPP is trying to drag BISP into politics. The programme functions under its own law and mechanisms. To repeatedly link it with floods is nothing more than political point-scoring,” she said, adding that the PPP had no solutions for people’s problems and was only interested in “flood politics”.

Ms Bokhari accused the PPP leaders of dictating from their homes which embankments the Punjab government should break. “Governments make such decisions based on prevailing circumstances and ground realities, not on political statements,” she remarked.

A day earlier, the minister had clarified that the Punjab government would issue relief cards to flood victims in their personal names, using its own resources, instead of using BISP for assistance.

So far, the Punjab government has announced a compensation package for flood-hit families, including Rs20,000 per acre for crop loss, Rs1 million for completely destroyed homes, Rs500,000 for partially damaged homes, and Rs500,000 for the loss of cattle.

PPP condemns JI emir’s remarks

Meanwhile, the PPP on Wednesday strongly condemned Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman’s remarks branding BISP a “fraud”.

A day after BISP chairperson Senator Rubina Khalid rebuked the JI emir over his remarks, PPP leaders Nadeem Afzal Chan and Chaudhry Manzoor denounced his statement in strong terms.

Mr Chan alleged that JI had recruited innocent citizens in the name of Afghan jihad and collected billions of rupees for a project that ultimately failed.

“Was Jamaat-i-Islami’s jihad project a success or a failure?” he asked, claiming that JI had sacrificed innocent lives in a futile war.

Mr Manzoor accused JI of exploiting the poor by pushing them into Ziaul Haq’s so-called jihad project. “That project was fraudulent, a failure, and history has proven it. JI even won seats in elections under its cover. They must stick to politics instead of exploiting people’s lives,” he remarked.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2025