ISLAMABAD: Audit officials informed the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday that cash payments totaling Rs89 million were disbursed under the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) to spouses of government employees and pensioners, some of whom were not eligible under programme rules.
During a PAC meeting chaired by Junaid Akbar Khan, officials reviewed audit findings for the Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety for fiscal years 2022–23 and 2023–24. The committee was told that 2,235 spouses of government employees and 704 spouses of pensioners received BISP payments.
Among the pensioners, those drawing more than Rs30,000 per month were not eligible under BISP policy but had still received funds. Payments were also made to families of employees from Grade 1 to Grade 20, including 263 in Grade 15, 42 in Grade 16, 21 in Grade 17, 15 in Grade 18, 11 in Grade 19, and three in Grade 20.
The BISP secretary told the committee that not all recipients were eligible and acknowledged that the institution lacked a clear mechanism to recover ineligible payments. He said names of recipients could be disclosed if requested by the committee.
