Massive BISP Scandal! Top Bureaucrats, Banks, and Fraudsters Exposed

Pakistan’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), led by Moeen Aamir Pirzada, reviewed audit reports about the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). This programme, run under the Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection Division, is Pakistan’s biggest welfare scheme. It aims to help poor families, but the audit showed many serious problems.

The report highlighted illegal payments to government employees, money sent to dead people, banks breaking rules, and fraud through fake biometric withdrawals. These findings have raised strong concerns about the transparency and credibility of BISP.

Government Employees Taking Benefits

The audit team told the committee that many government employees and their spouses were receiving BISP payments, even though they are not allowed under the rules.

The BISP Secretary accepted that this was true and said people from many government departments were included, which makes recovery difficult. The numbers presented were shocking:

• 85 officers in Grade 20
• 630 officers in Grade 19
• Even Grade 22 senior officers were listed

Convener Pirzada expressed anger and said it was shameful that senior bureaucrats, who already get good salaries and pensions, were taking money meant for poor families. He also questioned whether the payment of Rs 7,000 a year was enough to make a real difference in anyone’s life.

The committee decided that all officers in Grade 16 and above must face criminal charges if found guilty. They also warned that such people should not be allowed to continue in government service.

Payments to Dead Beneficiaries

Another shocking point was that Rs 15.06 million had been paid to people who had already died, some of them before 2008. In some cases, payments continued for more than ten years after death.

The BISP Secretary disagreed with some figures. He said that out of 841 cases marked as dead, about 94% were actually alive. He explained that poor reporting of deaths and weak verification systems caused confusion. Still, he admitted that BISP’s process had gaps.

The committee ordered a fresh and complete verification exercise to check both the audit findings and BISP’s own records.

Members also raised the issue of fake biometric withdrawals, where agents and family members of the deceased may have worked together to keep taking money.

Banks Ignored Rules – Rs 607 Million in Penalties

The audit also found problems with banks that work with BISP. According to the agreement, if an account stayed inactive for six months, banks were supposed to block it and remove the balance. If they failed, they had to pay penalties.

However, banks ignored this rule many times, and BISP did not recover Rs 607 million in penalties.

The PAC showed concern about this but decided to discuss it more in the next meeting for a detailed review.

FIA’s Actions Against Fraud

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) gave details about its investigations into BISP fraud. They reported:

• 879 FIRs registered
• 292 arrests made
• Challans submitted in courts

The FIA said it is still recovering money and that cases involving Grade 17 officers and above will face criminal charges. They also confirmed that investigations are targeting agents and officials who may have helped with fake biometric fraud.

Federal vs Provincial Employees

Convener Pirzada asked whether the accused employees were mostly federal officers. The BISP Secretary replied that most were provincial officers, but some federal employees were also involved.

PAC’s Closing Remarks

At the end of the meeting, Convener Pirzada said the findings showed serious weaknesses in how BISP is run. He said problems like government employees getting benefits, payments to the deceased, fake withdrawals, and banks not following rules go against the very purpose of the programme.

The committee decided on the following actions:

1. Criminal cases for all officers in Grade 16 and above.
2. A new verification process for deceased beneficiaries.
3. A review of bank penalties in the next meeting.
4. Continued FIA prosecutions against fraudsters.

Audit officials warned that although BISP is Pakistan’s biggest welfare programme, these failures can damage public trust. Experts also say that unless strong recovery systems and strict accountability are put in place, the programme’s integrity will remain at risk.

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