Economy is the “most serious” challenge facing the country: Shazia Marri

ISLAMABAD (Press Release, April 14): The economy is the “most serious challenge” faced by the country, said Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation & Social Safety (PA&SS), Chairperson Benazir Income Support Program (BISP), Ms. Shazia Marri.

The Federal Minister said we are aware of the misery faced by the lower and lower middle classes caused by the ever-increasing inflation. In a joint press conference with Faisal Karim Kundi, the Minister of State for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety in Islamabad, Marri said that the ongoing economic crisis in the country is a result of bad governance and poor economic policies implemented by the previous administration under the leadership of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.

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Marri added that considerable time and effort will be needed to right this wrong for the country to come out of this “quagmire”. Criticizing the PTI government, Marri said the PML-N government is not indifferent to the “pains of the poor”. Unlike the PTI government, Marri reiterated, the coalition government has worked to increase the annual budget of the BISP by almost seventy percent from Rs. 235 billion to Rs. 400 billion.

The improved budgetary allocation has helped the BISP to extend “maximum support” to the poor and the needy sects of society allowing for direct cash transfer, said Shazia Marri.

Under the Benazir Kafaalat, a Flagship Unconditional Cash Transfer (UTC) of the BISP, Marri stressed the number of beneficiaries has increased to approximately 9 million in the span of a year.

Acknowledging the challenges faced by the “power people”, Marri emphasized that the government has increased Kafaalat cash assistant by twenty-five percent allowing BISP to disburse Rs. 9,000/- alternatively to the beneficiaries, making an overall average installment of Rs. 8,750/-. On the other hand, climate change and super floods have also led to the current economic downturn in the country, said the Federal Minister.

As per directions of the Prime Minister, the BISP disbursed Rs. 70 billion to at least 2.8 million families affected in the flood-affected regions. According to Marri, each family was given a one-time dispensation of Rs. 25,000/-. The Federal Minister further said that BISP distributed “nutritious food supplements and cash stipend” worth 1 billion to infants and lactating mothers, under the Benzair Nashonuma and World Food Programme (WFP).

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Discussing the Benazir Taleemi Wazaif, Marri said that in the last year, the beneficiary’s children of Taleemi Wazaif jumped from 2.6 million to 7.1 million. Concerning the Benzair Undergraduate Scholarship Scheme, Marri emphasized that it should be connected with the PMT score so that undergraduate students belonging to poor families can get maximum benefits from the scheme. Marri further informed the media that the initiative which started in 2016, as a pilot project and existed in fifteen districts, has now expanded to every district of Pakistan with more than 474 Nashonuma centres now operating all over the country providing nutritious food to approximately 520,000 pregnant and lactating mothers and newborns.

Highlighting the challenges of social seclusion and economic deprivation, in the transgender community, Marri said that for the first time in Pakistan’s history, this community has been brought under the Kafaalat net. Meanwhile, the minimum PMT score has also been waived for them on the condition that they register as a transgender person in NADRA (National Database and Registration Authority).

Moreover, Shazia Marri noted that the BISP has shifted from a static registry to a dynamic registry in a year, with the introduction of which existing beneficiaries can update their information at a dynamic survey desk established at the BISP Tehsil offices. Those who wish to benefit from the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) should get themselves registered through the dynamic registry as that is free, urged Marri.

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The Federal Minister also spoke about the support extended to the provinces under BISP adding that 6.9 million families have been given Rs. 2,000/- each in Sindh, under the flour subsidy distribution scheme of the Sindh government. Moreover, 185,928 farmers from the flood-affected areas have been paid Wheat Seed Subsidy by the Sindh govt. Along with BISP, Pakistan Baitulmal, (PBM) and the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund are working on the social and economic uplift of the people of Pakistan.

Likewise, Faisal Karim Kundi, Minister of State for Poverty Alleviation & Social Safety (PA&SS) addressed the press conference. Kundi said that the PPP (Pakistan Peoples Party) is not in “favour of conflict” among state institutions. Kundi added that this is the reason, Chairperson PPP has constituted a reconciliation Committee to “engage in dialogue” with all political stakeholders including the opposition parties, to address the crisis seeping out of the country’s “political polarization”.

Answering questions presented by the media, Federal Minister Shazia Marri stressed that the Parliament is the supreme institution and its sanctity cannot be compromised. She added that although the government doesn’t want confrontation, the supremacy of the Parliament must not be compromised. She said: “No institution should disrespect any other institution and dictate its own terms”.

“Any such attempt will be foiled with full power that [the] constitution of Pakistan has bestowed to the parliament”, concluded Marri.

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