Rs19bn in BISP funds disbursed among 143,000 govt officials.

ISLAMABAD -- The office of the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) on Thursday informed the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday that Rs19 billion of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) had been illegally distributed among 143,000 government officials.

During the scrutiny of the audit report of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division, Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, a member of the PAC, inquired from BISP secretary Yousuf Khan about the status of the inquiry into the distribution of funds among government officials in 2020.

This issue of the disbursement of BISP funds among underserving beAAneficiaries came to light in 2020 and the then government had ordered the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to investigate the matter.

In response to the question of Senator Syed, BISP secretary Yousuf Khan told the committee that of the 143,000 ineligible beneficiaries who were in the government service, 2,500 had been working in BS-17 and above.

He said these officials had been drawing the BISP's funds meant for the needy people in the names of their spouses and relatives.

Unauthorised beneficiaries include 2,500 working in BS-17 and above, PAC told

When PAC chairman Noor Alam Khan inquired about the total amount paid to these illegitimate beneficiaries, the BISP secretary said he was unaware of the exact figure of the amount.

However, the audit officials inforAmed the committee that Rs19bn had been paid to undeserving people.

The PAC chairman also formed a joint investigation team (JIT) to probe the scam and sought a report within a fortnight. He also directed the BISP to provide the record to the JIT comprising...