BISP Corruption Report Raises Serious Questions About Transparency: Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman

Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman has criticised the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), saying a report highlighting Rs24 billion rupees in financial irregularities has raised serious questions about the transparency of the so-caller welfare scheme established in the name of the poor.

In a post on social media platform X on Friday, Rehman said the programme had failed to eradicate poverty despite receiving an annual budget of more than Rs800 billion.

He pointed out that Pakistan’s poverty rate had increased from 21 per cent to 28 per cent over the past eight years, questioning the effectiveness of the massive public spending intended to support vulnerable households.

Citing World Bank figures, the JI chief said Pakistan was home to approximately 48 per cent of the extremely poor population in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan (MENAAP) region who lived on less than $3 a day.

He argued that the trillions of rupees spent over the years could have transformed the future of millions of young Pakistanis if the funds had been utilised through better planning and more effective priorities.

He called into question the effectiveness of a programme receiving substantial public funding while poverty continued to affect a significant proportion of the population.

Rehman stressed that public funds could deliver far greater benefits if spent transparently and directed towards policies capable of improving livelihoods and expanding opportunities for the country’s youth.