Poverty & terrorism have to be fought together: Shazia Marri

KARACHI, August 05 (SABAH): Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety & Chairperson Benazir Income Support Program Ms. Shazia Atta Marri has said that the people of Pakistan are facing problems like poverty, terrorism and natural disasters and we have to fight these problems together. We want to make the people of Pakistan so resilient that they can face these problems with courage.

Ms. Shazia Marri expressed these views while addressing the participants at the inauguration ceremony of the Mobile Registration Vehicle Centers in Karachi. German Consul General Dr. Ruediger Lotz and Secretary BISP, Amer Ali Ahmad also attended the occasion.

During the ceremony, Shazia Marri briefed about Mobile Registration Vehicle Center and said that Mobile Registration Vehicle Center has been started with the support of German Government, GIZ and Sindh Government. Initially, mobile registration vehicles are being started in 25 districts of Sindh and Balochistan. Gothki, Umarkot, Tharparkar, Sanghar and Jamshoro districts of Sindh province while Chagai, Khuzdar, Kech, Awaran, Lasbela, Sibi, Loralai, Qila Saifullah and other districts of Balochistan province are included in it. The Federal Minister further said that the beneficiaries in remote areas will be accessed through mobile registration vehicle. The aim of the mobile registration vehicle is to facilitate the registration process for the beneficiaries in remote areas of the country.

Ms. Shazia Marri said that I am grateful to the German government and GIZ for their support in the purchase of vans. The Federal Minister also thanked all the development partners for their financial and technical support along with the Benazir Income Support Programme. She said that the purpose of BISP is to provide financial support to the poor and low-income people of Pakistan. Benazir Income Support Programme has completed 15 years since its inception. According to the vision of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, former President Asif Ali Zardari had founded Benazir Income Support Programme. BISP provides income support to low income households. This programme not only provides financial support to poor families but also empowers women economically.

Ms. Shazia Marri highlighted the one year performance of Benazir Income Support Programme and said that the quarterly stipend of Benazir Kafaalat has been increased and now Rs 8750 per family is given on quarterly basis. In the last one year, the number of beneficiaries of the Benazir Income Support Programme has increased from 7.6 million families to 9 million.

Ms. Shazia Marri said that the BISP staff ensured the distribution of relief money to the deserving ones in the worst conditions during the floods and 70 billion rupees were distributed to the 2.8 million flood victims at the rate of 25000 rupees per family. She said that Benazir Income Support Programme has been declared as one of the best and successful social protection programme in the world. It identified millions of beneficiaries through Dynamic Registry and enrolled them in the programme. For the first time in the country’s history, people with special abilities and Transgenders were included in the programme. She further said that 820,000 deserving people who were removed from the Benazir Income Support Programme by the previous government were given the right to formal appeal, out of which more than 200,000 beneficiaries have been identified so far.

The Federal Minister said that the present government is trying to take social protection measures for the welfare of vulnerable and marginalized segment of society. It is paving the way to provide a favorable environment for the economic empowerment of women, she concluded.