Retailer held for fleecing BISP beneficiary

A monitoring team of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) has apprehended a retailer for making an illegal deduction of Rs11,000 from the amount granted to a woman.

The team immediately deactivated the payment device used by the retail service provider, Waqar.

The action was taken amid allegations of corruption in the disbursement of BISP financial assistance to deserving women in Khanewal.

A beneficiary of the social support programme, named Hayat, was deprived of Rs11,000 by the retailer at Lahore Mor.

Upon receiving the complaint, the BISP monitoring team acted promptly, recovered the deducted amount and returned it to the recipient.

Departmental action was taken by shutting down the retailer's device.

In another incident in Zahoorabad, the team recovered dozens of national identity cards from a retailer named Tayyab, but no further action was taken despite evident violations of the relevant standard operating procedures (SOPs).

According to sources, the retailers involved in malpractices collect CNICs from widows and other deserving women through their agents, withdraw their funds, and charge them Rs1,000 to Rs2,000 per transaction.

There are around 100 sanctioned BISP aid disbursement facilities in Khanewal. However, only three devices have bean activated allegedly due to collusion between franchise owners and officials, the sources said.

The women are forced to wait in harsh weather conditions without adequate facilities, but no effective action is taken by the authorities.