Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) Chairperson Marvi Memon on Saturday visited various payment points and beneficiary households at Skardu, Shigar and Khaplu to inspect proper functioning of payments.

“The BISP is fully committed to timely release full payments to beneficiaries, interact with the beneficiaries and gain firsthand information regarding their satisfaction with the service delivery and customer care,” the BISP chairperson said. Whether it was scorching heat or freezing winters, BISP was always present at the service of the vulnerable and poor, she added.

Speaker Gilgit-Baltistan legislative assembly Fida Muhammad Nashad also accompanied the chairperson during her visit to Skardu, according a news release issued. BISP has recently released its quarterly payments worth Rs 25 billion in the last week of December. The payments in Skardu, Shigar and Khaplu were made through debit cards therefore the chairperson visited different ATMs and point of sale (POS). The chairperson inspected the disbursement of the stipend at the remote payment points in Baltistan and interacted with beneficiaries for their feedback. She told them to contact BISP Hotline 080026477 in case of any difficulty.

She also visited the beneficiaries Zubeida, Fatima, Khadija and Amna Bibi at their homes in Shigar. While condoling with Fatima Bibi on the martyrdom of her son in Wana, she said that state is highly indebted to Fatima Bibi for her great sacrifice for the country. Later, Marvi also visited beneficiary households in Khaplu for feedback. The chairperson held meetings with local notables as well and informed them about the new survey for National Social Economic Survey (NSER) update.

She stated that the pilot phase of survey was under process in four districts where desks are setup to register people. Door-to-door survey would be launched in twelve pilot districts soon followed by the national roll out. The local notables came up with suggestions regarding the new survey and poverty scorecard. The chairperson assured them that their reservations have been noted and would be considered.

The chairperson reiterated that BISP was shifting its payment mechanism to Biometric Verification System (BVS) for payments. This will further ease payment mechanism and eliminate middleman culture, she said. At present, 83.9 percent of beneficiaries are drawing their stipends through debit cards, 13 percent through biometric mechanism and 3 percent were receiving funds through Pakistan Post.