AJK president praises BISP for reducing poverty

Islamabad: AJK President, Sardar Muhammad Masood Khan has said an egalitarian society cannot be established without addressing the menace of poverty.  Eliminating the poverty is not just a welfare activity but it is one of the fundamental responsibilities of the state. He expressed these views while addressing a gathering organized by Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) here on Thursday. The function was held in connection with presentation of annual performance report of the BISP.
The president said that poverty is considered a curse in this age and it is collective responsibility of the world to address this problem. He said it is not enough to reduce the poverty but total elimination of the poverty should be our target and the end goal. He highly appreciated the efforts of BISP in addressing the poverty issue and expressed his hope that untiring efforts being made by BISP would produce positive results in future.
The president suggested that AJK civil society organization and various departments of the AJK government should also integrated with process so that collective efforts could be made to eliminate the poverty in the state. Earlier Chairman BISP and minister for state Marvi Memon told that around 98 billion were disburse to 5.3 million families of the country. She said that 1,04, 260 people in Azad Kashmir are benefiting from the BISP’s poverty reduction program besides 41,000 students of the state who are getting educational scholarships. She claimed that BISP played a vital role in reducing poverty in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
She said BISP has embarked upon Biometric Verification System (BVS) for bringing transparency and efficiency in payment mechanism, she stated. She said pilot phase of new poverty survey to update National Socio-Economic Registry (NSER) includes Mirpur (AJ&K). Updated NSER would be an asset for planning and development in the country and all departments of AJK government besides providing financial assistance to the needy.
The Chairperson reiterated that BISP is a unique programme that supports Sustainable Development Goals of poverty reduction, zero hunger, quality education and gender equality. Primary objective is to empower women while instilling values of empowerment, dignity and promoting interprovincial harmony, she maintained.
President Masood distributed appreciation certificates among ten BISP beneficiaries from all across the AJ&K for their struggle against poverty.  On the occasion, these beneficiaries stated that besides helping them financially, BISP had been pivotal in empowering them socially and economically.