Chairperson of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) Farzana Raja on Sunday said Pakistan was not only threatened by terrorism but also by ‘political terrorists’ who even wanted to snatch the bread from the poor.Addressing a press conference here, Farzana Raja said Sharif brothers had nothing to offer for the poor masses as after defeat in the AJK elections, they started criticizing the BISP which was facilitating around 3 million poor people of the country.She said over Rs 14.87 billion under the BISP had been distributed among the people on the recommendations of PML-N parliamentarians.
She said the leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) were pointing fingers at a pro-poor programme only to avenge their defeat in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections. By doing so, they have shown their negative and anti-poor mentality, she added.
She said the BISP was a completely apolitical programme which was serving the poorest of the poor without any discrimination.
The apolitical nature of the programme is evident from the fact that Rs. 47 Billion have been disbursed in the first phase among the beneficiary families recommended by the representatives of political parties, she added.
The BISP Chairperson said Rs 25 billion have been distributed on the recommendations of PPP parliamentarians, Rs 14.87 billion on PML-N, Rs 15.5 billion on PML-Q, Rs 4.5 billion on MQM, Rs.3.6 billion on ANP and Rs 134 million on PML-F members.
She said that during the AJK election campaign, PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif did not say anything about the sufferings of Kashmiri people. He only attempted to malign Pakistan Army, which showed that his politics revolved around controversial statements against national institutions.
Farzana Raja said that the recent statements of PML-N leader regarding the BISP not only reflected his ignorance but were also insulting for the people of AJK, as he had termed them “saleable commodity”. She demanded of him to apologize to the Kashmiri people over the said statement.
She said that the transparent mechanisms adopted by the BISP were not only acknowledged by various prestigious international bodies, which had also been unanimously approved by the Parliament.
She said that on the directives of the President and the Prime Minister she herself distributed the BISP forms among the elected members of AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan during the first phase of the programme.
She said that former AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider was also toeing the same line adopted by Mian Nawaz Sharif, forgetting the fact that while receiving the BISP forms, he was quite appreciative of the programme.
She said that around 1.2 million families in Punjab,1.48 million in Sindh, 820,000 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 350,000 in Balochistan, 70,000 in Azad Jammu Kashmir and 40,000 families in Gilgit-Baltistan were being facilitated by the BISP.
Farzana Raja said the BISP was a practical manifestation of the dreams of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. She said Rs. 65 billion have been allocated in the budget for the BISP. She said various international donor agencies were also willing to extend their support to the BISP in its poverty alleviation objectives.
In response to a query, she said that the government was not afraid of any alliance of undemocratic forces against it. She said that the government would continue its policy of national reconciliation. However, it should not be taken as its weakness.
She said the leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) were pointing fingers at a pro-poor programme only to avenge their defeat in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections. By doing so, they have shown their negative and anti-poor mentality, she added.
She said the BISP was a completely apolitical programme which was serving the poorest of the poor without any discrimination.
The apolitical nature of the programme is evident from the fact that Rs. 47 Billion have been disbursed in the first phase among the beneficiary families recommended by the representatives of political parties, she added.
The BISP Chairperson said Rs 25 billion have been distributed on the recommendations of PPP parliamentarians, Rs 14.87 billion on PML-N, Rs 15.5 billion on PML-Q, Rs 4.5 billion on MQM, Rs.3.6 billion on ANP and Rs 134 million on PML-F members.
She said that during the AJK election campaign, PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif did not say anything about the sufferings of Kashmiri people. He only attempted to malign Pakistan Army, which showed that his politics revolved around controversial statements against national institutions.
Farzana Raja said that the recent statements of PML-N leader regarding the BISP not only reflected his ignorance but were also insulting for the people of AJK, as he had termed them “saleable commodity”. She demanded of him to apologize to the Kashmiri people over the said statement.
She said that the transparent mechanisms adopted by the BISP were not only acknowledged by various prestigious international bodies, which had also been unanimously approved by the Parliament.
She said that on the directives of the President and the Prime Minister she herself distributed the BISP forms among the elected members of AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan during the first phase of the programme.
She said that former AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider was also toeing the same line adopted by Mian Nawaz Sharif, forgetting the fact that while receiving the BISP forms, he was quite appreciative of the programme.
She said that around 1.2 million families in Punjab,1.48 million in Sindh, 820,000 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 350,000 in Balochistan, 70,000 in Azad Jammu Kashmir and 40,000 families in Gilgit-Baltistan were being facilitated by the BISP.
Farzana Raja said the BISP was a practical manifestation of the dreams of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. She said Rs. 65 billion have been allocated in the budget for the BISP. She said various international donor agencies were also willing to extend their support to the BISP in its poverty alleviation objectives.
In response to a query, she said that the government was not afraid of any alliance of undemocratic forces against it. She said that the government would continue its policy of national reconciliation. However, it should not be taken as its weakness.