MATIARI: Minister of State for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Kheal Das Kohistani said on Friday that the government is considering devolving the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) to provinces.
Launched in 2008, BISP is Pakistan’s flagship poverty alleviation and social safety programme, providing financial assistance to more than 10 million low-income families, particularly women.
Speaking to reporters in Matiari, the federal minister clarified that complete abolition of the Benazir Income Support Programme was not under consideration.
Kohistani said discussions on the programme’s administrative structure emerged after the implementation of 18th Constitutional Amendment, under which several ministries and departments were devolved to the provinces from the Centre. He added that some provinces had also voiced support for transferring BISP to the provincial governments.
The minister said the federal government would make any decision on the matter only after consultations with coalition
partners.
His remarks came a day after reports emerged that Pakistan had given written assurances to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to phase out the existing electricity subsidy system and introduce a targeted support mechanism.
Prior to this development, the provinces, particularly Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), strongly opposed the federal government’s proposal to shift selected expenditures to provincial budgets during a National Finance Commission (NFC) session held in December last year.
Federal authorities argued that increasing provincial transfers, coupled with continued federal spending responsibilities, were widening fiscal deficits and adding to the Centre’s borrowing pressures.
The provinces had rejected suggestions that provinces should take financial responsibility for the BISP, Higher Education Commission (HEC) and development projects traditionally funded through the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).
