Benazir Income Support Program Scandal
The Benazir Income Support Program, one of Pakistan’s most important welfare initiatives, was created to provide financial aid to poor and deserving families, especially women. However, a recent series of shocking revelations has raised serious concerns about corruption and misuse of funds within the program.
A viral video circulating on social media has exposed how some agents and shopkeepers are making illegal deductions from women’s BISP payments. Alongside this, an audit report has revealed that billions of rupees meant for poor families were instead transferred to government officials, making this one of the biggest scandals in the history of BISP.
Viral Video Exposes Deductions from BISP Payments
In the viral video, it can be clearly seen that after distributing the Benazir Income Support Program payments to women, the agents take a video statement from the recipients claiming they received the full amount. However, right after the recording, a portion of the money is illegally deducted.
According to reports, some shopkeepers and local agents have been visiting women’s homes to distribute the funds, instead of having the beneficiaries collect the payments from official BISP centers. After the video went viral, Assistant Commissioner Nadeem Baloch confirmed that legal action is being taken against the agents involved. He assured that strict measures will be enforced to protect the rights of beneficiaries and to prevent further exploitation.
Billions Transferred to Government Officials from BISP
While the viral video shocked the public, a much larger scandal has also come to light. During a recent meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) sub-committee, chaired by Convener Moin Amir Pirzada, it was revealed that Rs 23.68 billion were wrongfully transferred to government officials instead of the intended beneficiaries.
According to the audit report, more than 140,000 government employees benefited from this corruption, including senior officers of grades 16 to 22. These officers, who are well-paid and not eligible for financial aid, received payments of Rs 7,000 each from the BISP fund money which was meant to help the country’s poorest citizens.
Details of the Benazir Income Support Program Scandal
The audit findings exposed the depth of the BISP corruption scandal. Among the recipients of the misdirected funds were 85 officers of grade 20 and 630 officers of grade 19, along with thousands of other government employees.
The Auditor General’s briefing revealed that Rs 16.33 billion has already been recovered, but a large amount of money is still unreturned. The scandal also involved pensioners and widows who were not eligible for BISP but received funds due to data manipulation and administrative negligence.
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Financial Breakdown of the BISP Corruption
The committee was presented with detailed figures of how much money different groups of employees received from the Benazir Income Support Program:
- 12,232 employees received Rs 146.7 million.
- More than 21,000 employees received Rs 369.6 million.
- 2,427 employees, pensioners, and widows received Rs 37.7 million.
These numbers highlight the massive misuse of funds that were meant for low-income families struggling to survive.
Government and Committee Response
The revelations angered members of the Public Accounts Committee. Convener Moin Amir Pirzada expressed strong disapproval, saying:
“The officers who received money from BISP were not ashamed; such officers should be dismissed from their jobs.”
The committee directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to launch criminal proceedings against government officers in grades 16 to 22 who benefited from the BISP payments. Furthermore, the committee instructed relevant departments to recover the funds from employees up to grade 15 and ensure no future misuse of welfare resources.
Legal and Administrative Actions Against BISP Corruption
In response to the growing outrage, authorities have started taking legal action against both the field agents involved in deducting women’s payments and the officials who illegally received funds. The FIA and BISP administrations are working to identify and punish all those involved.
The government has also announced plans to digitize payment systems and increase transparency in the distribution process. Measures such as biometric verification, direct bank transfers, and real-time tracking are being introduced to stop agents and middlemen from exploiting beneficiaries.
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