PESHAWAR: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar on Monday said names of 820,165 undeserving beneficiaries were removed from the list of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).

“Out of the total 820,165 beneficiaries that were struck off from the BISP database, 1,40,000 were government employees, including employees of Pakistan Railways, Post Office and BISP,” Dr Sania Nishtar said at a press conference here after inaugurating biometric system for Benazir Income Support Program (BISP)’s beneficiaries.

She said lists of all such government employees were sent to the federal and provincial governments for initiation of disciplinary proceedings against them.

Dr Sania said four officers of the BISP were dismissed and two were issued show-cause notices.

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She also said Prime Minister Imran Khan would launch ‘Kafalat’ Program under which Rs2,000 a month stipend would be paid to registered women through a digital payment system based on transparent mechanism.

Dr Sania Nishtar announced that the prime minister would inaugurate the ambitious Kafalat Program on January 31 for socio-economic empowerment of the poor women.

She said procurement process of the system had been completed in last 10 months after hectic works, adding the stipend to beneficiaries would be provided through branches of the Habib Bank and Bank Al-Falah.

She said beneficiaries would be given payment through ATMs under a transparent mechanism and number of such points was being increased so that they could get stipend amount in a dignified way.

Dr Sania said this program would be launched in phase manner, adding in the first phase Kafalat Program is being launched in Lakki Marwat, Haripur, Charsadda and Mohmand districts. She said focus would be made on all provinces including merged areas.