The Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) has warned that it may initiate legal proceedings under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) against individuals who level what it described as baseless allegations against the Programme, accusing certain elements of attempting to undermine its reputation for personal or political gain.
In a statement issued on Friday, a BISP spokesperson said the Programme remains Pakistan's largest national social protection initiative and is widely recognised, both domestically and internationally, as a successful model for transparent governance, efficient service delivery and timely financial assistance to deserving households.
According to the spokesperson, delegations and development partners from around the world regularly visit Pakistan to study BISP's operational model and learn from its implementation practices.
The spokesperson alleged that some individuals had recently sought to damage the Programme's credibility for "narrow personal or political interests", calling such attempts regrettable and condemnable. The statement maintained that millions of deserving women and families benefit from BISP, and said using the Programme for political point-scoring or making unfounded allegations against it amounted to a serious offence.
"BISP reserves the right to initiate legal proceedings under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), wherever applicable," the spokesperson said, urging all stakeholders to avoid spreading unverified claims about the institution.
The statement further asserted that the Programme operates under stringent standards of transparency and accountability, with its financial and administrative affairs subject to regular audits, robust monitoring mechanisms and oversight by international development partners.
The spokesperson also said President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif have expressed full confidence in BISP's service delivery mechanism. As evidence of that confidence, the statement cited the use of the Programme's beneficiary database during the Ramazan Relief Package, the COVID-19 emergency response and flood relief operations.
Calling BISP a vital national institution, the spokesperson appealed to political parties, social stakeholders and the media not to use the Programme for political purposes, stressing that safeguarding its credibility is essential to ensuring uninterrupted support for millions of deserving women and their families.