Poverty is a cross-border phenomenon and India could learn from the experiences of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said in a meeting with Farzana Raja, chairperson of BISP, on Tuesday.
Kumar said BISP was a commendable initiative aiming at poverty alleviation and women empowerment.
Various interventions, including those in health and education sectors, have been introduced to uplift the living standards of under-privileged segments of society and India wants to learn from the experiences and success of the BISP, he added.
Farzana Raja said Pakistan and India face similar issues in the social sector that ought to be resolved by working together, she said. She said that one-window operation was one of the prime factors of the success of BISP as it had reduced the non-developmental expenditures tremendously.
Under BISP, the federal government has issued ATM/debit cards to the poor to receive financial aid and gain access to various welfare schemes. The programme was also used to provide aid to the flood victims.
PTI reception
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan on Tuesday said that good-governance was good politics and his government would restore the law and order situation across the country within 90 days.
He expressed these views at a reception hosted for Nitish Kumar at his Bani Gala residence. Senior PTI leaders including Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, Shafqat Mahmood, Jahangir Tareen, Khursheed Kasuri, Naeemul Haq and others were also present.
Nitish Kumar, on the occasion, said that his government had restored law and order in Bihar through better coordination between the executive and judiciary. He said speedy justice could restore the confidence of the general public in democratic process.
He said his government ensured protection to the state witnesses and posted data of the criminals and mafia groups on the websites for general public and government officials. Sustainable policies coupled with determination of the state, could yield better results, he added.
Imran Khan said that Pakistan should benefit from successful experiences of the Bihar state government.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 14th, 2012.
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