ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Monday launched 10 million digital wallets for Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) beneficiaries, calling it a historic milestone in Pakistan\u2019s journey towards transparency, financial inclusion, and a cashless economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a symbolic palm touch, the Prime Minister inaugurated the system in the presence of federal ministers, BISP leadership, and international partners, including GIZ. He congratulated BISP Chairperson Senator Rubina Khalid, the BISP team, and partner institutions for the \u201clandmark decision that will safeguard genuine recipients and protect them from undue difficulties.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe digital wallet system is in its true sense blessed by the soul of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, as it empowers BISP beneficiaries with safe, transparent, and direct access to financial assistance,\u201d PM Shehbaz said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He emphasized that BISP remains a \u201cgreat initiative for poverty alleviation and employment generation,\u201d but stressed that continued efforts were needed to expand its impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The prime minister termed the launch \u201ca great leap towards a cashless economy.\u201d He recalled that during Ramazan, 78 percent of the relief package was successfully disbursed through digital channels despite skepticism and resistance from vested interests. \u201cCashless transactions are the pressing requirement of our times. They save time, end corruption, and bring efficiency, helping Pakistan progress rapidly,\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The prime minister revealed that he personally chaired multiple meetings on digitization despite initial \u201cindifferent attitudes and boredom\u201d on the issue, underlining his resolve to transform government-to-government, business-to-business, and personal transactions into digital channels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PM Shehbaz urged BISP leadership to integrate conditionalities on education and health into the programme. \u201cIf a family is receiving assistance, it should be linked with the condition that all children of that household attend school. Similarly, health initiatives must be tied with BISP support. Only then will this programme become a true legacy benefiting millions of children,\u201d he stated, calling for reducing the existing eight to ten-month implementation cycle to just four months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Prime Minister concluded by paying tribute to all stakeholders State Bank of Pakistan, IT Ministry, Pakistani banks, and development partners for their contributions. \u201cWe are not just disbursing aid, we are raising an army of architects and workers to build the nation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier, BISP Federal Secretary Amir Ali Ahmed briefed that under the Prime Minister\u2019s direction, a high-level committee was formed to ensure transparency and ease of access in the digital system. \u201cAfter today\u2019s launch, 10 million digital wallets will be developed using beneficiaries\u2019 CNICs, supported by a biometric verification system to prevent identity theft,\u201d he said. He added that 10 million free SIM cards would also be distributed, with the first phase already underway in Hyderabad, Sukkur, and Rahim Yar Khan in collaboration with Jazz\/Mobilink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BISP Chairperson Senator Rubina Khalid termed the launch an \u201cimportant and historic milestone\u201d in Pakistan\u2019s social protection journey. \u201cThis programme, which supports over 10 million impoverished families, is not just financial assistance, it is a pathway to social and economic empowerment,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She noted that linking benefits to women\u2019s CNICs gave them recognition and inclusion in the national database. The new wallets, she added, would \u201copen further opportunities\u201d and be supported by digital literacy programmes for women beneficiaries unfamiliar with technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senator Rubina highlighted that BISP is the continuation of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto\u2019s vision for women\u2019s empowerment, a dream carried forward by President Asif Ali Zardari and now \u201cexcelling further under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif\u2019s leadership.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Monday launched 10 million digital wallets for Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) beneficiaries, calling it a historic milestone in Pakistan\u2019s journey towards transparency, financial inclusion, and a cashless economy. With a symbolic palm touch, the Prime Minister inaugurated the system in the presence of federal ministers, BISP leadership, […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10399,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,82],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia","category-paksitan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10398"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10398\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}