Daily Times

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection Dr Sania Nishtar on Friday said that Ehsaas programme, initiated by the government, was totally impartial and transparent.

Responding to a question during Senate proceedings, she said that One Window Ehsaas was being unscaled nationwide while 20 other Ehsaas programs were also running, including Ehsaas Langars, Ehsaas Panagahs and Ehsaas Koye Bhooka Na Soye. She said that a comprehensive report would be issued regarding Ehsaas programme very soon.

She said that opposition members should give suggestions for further improving Ehsaas projects instead of criticizing before the media. Sania Nishtar said that Benazir Income Support (BISP) was an institution and not related to Panagahs or Langarkhanas. She said that many inquiries were underway due to corruption in BISP.

She said that Ehsaas Kafaalat provided cash stipends of Rs2,000 monthly to the most deserving and poorest women across the country. She said that ‘Conditional Cash Transfers’ was also an important pillar of Ehsaas. She said that Ehsaas Emergency Cash program has been launched in the context of the economic hardship being experienced by the people due to the on-going coronavirus crisis. She said that the program covered more than 15 million families with a total budget of Rs203 billion.