Kifalat programme to empower poor segments of society: Sania Nishtar

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan's special assistant on social protection and poverty alleviation, Dr Sania Nishtar, said Sunday the Kifalat Programme — under the Ehsaas initiative umbrella — would be launched in 15 districts within a few weeks to empower the society's poor segments.

Speaking to APP in an interview, she said an additional amount of Rs8.6 billion would be spent on the Kifalat Programme, which would be expanded to 34 districts in March and more till 2020.

Dr Nishtar noted that a socioeconomic survey of 216 villages along the Line of Control (LoC) in Azad Jammu and Kashmir was completed under Kifalat Programme to include all women who had their Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) without any condition. These women frequently suffered from economic losses as a result of India's ceasefire violations in the list of beneficiaries, she said.

The special assistant said another milestone would be the launching of a shock-oriented precision safety net, called "Tahafaz," by next month — also under the Ehsaas initiative umbrella — for the vulnerable to protect them against shocks.

The "Tahafaz" initiative included provision of one-time financial assistance for the protection of deserving folks against catastrophic events, assistance to poor widows who do not have any other earning family members, and legal aid.

A partnership with NGOs to upscale successful programmes for orphans, street children, seasonal migrants, transgender people, victims of child and bonded labour, and daily wage workers would also be components of this initiative, she said.

Dr Nishtar mentioned that efforts were being carried out to bring transparency in each and every programme as per the PM's vision.

Details of 14,730 government employees of the total 820,165 undeserving beneficiaries of Benazir Income Support programme (BISP) identified in a recent move to make the programme transparent would be sent to relevant departments for further legal action. The number of beneficiaries was now reduced to 4.27 million, she said.

In response to a question, she said a majority of the cases (33 percent) of undeserving beneficiaries were found in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, followed by 29.67 percent in Punjab, 22.32 percent in Sindh, 5.52 percent in Balochistan, 2.12 percent in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and only one percent and 0.2 percent in Gilgit Baltistan and Islamabad, respectively.

Dr Nishtar said the Ehsaas Programme's digital payment mechanism with biometric verification was in place for the BISP beneficiaries, helping reduce the chances of identity theft and fraudulent withdrawals.

She also said the government planned to launch the 'Ehsaas App' in January to educate common people as well as the beneficiaries about the schemes and facilities being provided under this pro-poor initiative.

It was for the first time in history that the government was introducing a unique scholarship programme for the poor children, which could be availed by students unable to meet the merit criteria but were deserving, she said, adding that the purpose behind launching the Ehsaas Programme was to empower poor citizens and address their issues.

"We are also in efforts to create close liaison with all the ministries to hold joint efforts to smooth the outreach of facilities through simplifying procedures for the labourers, overseas Pakistanis, teachers etc belonging to the poor sections of society," she said.

Dr Nishtar said the present government was also providing incentives to the private sector so that it can work for the welfare of poor segments. She informed that her division in collaboration with a private organisation is in process to ensure poor children access to the free online content created for educational purposes.