Islamabad:MNN
Chairperson of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), Senator Rubina Khalid, has termed circulating reports claiming that a single identity card was linked to 5,000 women as misleading and contrary to facts.
In a statement, Senator Rubina Khalid clarified that the audit report identified 5,598 cases of discrepancies in marital data records and did not state that a single individual had 5,598 wives.
She said that some quarters were presenting audit observations out of context, adding that the registration of multiple wives does not result in any additional financial benefit, as only one payment is made to a household regardless of the number of wives.
The BISP Chairperson emphasized that all payments under the programme are made only after verification and profiling through NADRA, and no beneficiary can receive payments without NADRA’s authentication.
She explained that the cases under discussion relate to record correction and data profiling and have no connection with embezzlement or financial irregularities. The re-verification of BISP data was completed in June 2025.
According to Senator Rubina Khalid, the BISP database covers 38.7 million households and nearly 200 million identity records. In such a large database, 5,598 mismatch cases reflect an effective monitoring and audit mechanism.
She further stated that robust systems for correction, verification, and recovery are in place before any payment is released, and that BISP maintains strict scrutiny procedures to ensure transparency and safeguard the rights of deserving beneficiaries.
The Chairperson urged the public and media to refrain from spreading unverified and misleading reports, noting that the programme’s transparency and effectiveness have also been acknowledged in reports issued by international institutions, including the World Bank, IMF, and Aga Khan University.