ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs on Tuesday expressed serious concern over alleged irregularities amounting to Rs25 billion and issues related to data integrity in the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), calling for a comprehensive inquiry.
The committee convened at Parliament House, chaired by Rana Iradat Sharif Khan. During the session, member Nikhat Shakeel Khan pointed to the audit report and highlighted a significant anomaly, revealing that a single individual’s Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) was associated with the registration of 5,558 women beneficiaries.
Alarmed by this irregularity, the committee demanded an urgent, high-level investigation, emphasizing that government aid and subsidies must be directed to legitimate beneficiaries through a transparent and accountable process.
The panel also scrutinized the efficiency of the public complaints redressal system and called for a detailed update on the Prime Minister’s Public Affairs & Grievances Wing, including timelines and procedures for handling grievances.
Members raised issues concerning delays in biometric verification for female beneficiaries, challenges faced during beneficiary surveys, and the overall performance of the complaint resolution mechanism.
During the briefing, the Secretary of Parliamentary Affairs revealed that Punjab had the highest number of public complaints. He stated that complaint data was under review, and recommendations were being sent to relevant departments for action.
The committee was informed that measures are being considered to improve the grievance system by soliciting feedback from complainants, verifying complaint resolutions, and implementing mandatory follow-up calls in at least 20 percent of cases. Complaints related to banking services and overseas Pakistanis are also being directed to the appropriate agencies within specified timeframes.
The audit report for the fiscal year 2024-25, covering 2025-26, identified significant weaknesses in the BISP Management Information System (BISP-MIS), especially concerning beneficiary profiling and spouse data verification.
The report revealed a financial exposure exceeding Rs25 billion, involving 601,850 beneficiary records that could be potentially compromised. Notably, the audit found that in 5,558 cases, a single spouse CNIC was linked to up to seven different female beneficiaries, with payments totaling Rs239.03 million.
