By: Shujaat Mir Sulehria
MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): Acting President Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Chaudhry Latif Akbar said that the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) is a continuation of the Pakistan Peoples Party’s manifesto “Roti, Kapra aur Makan”.
This program is working to empower women as per the vision of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, he said while addressing a ceremony organized under the Benazir Income Support Program at the President House Muzaffarabad.
On the occasion, the Acting President said that the leadership of the Pakistan Peoples Party has always been a role model.
“Even today, those who used to take revenge in the past, give the example of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto in difficult times. He added that Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto provided identity cards and passports to the people of Azad Kashmir and eradicated poverty from here,” he added.
Chaudhry Latif Akbar added that prosperity is visible in every area of Azad Kashmir because of Shaheed Bhutto’s vision.
He said, “Pakistan People’s Party took revolutionary steps for the development and empowerment of women and provided opportunities for women, who constitute more than 50 percent of the population, to move forward in every field, in which the Government of Pakistan always supported.”
The Acting President further said that special welfare programs should be started for the refugees of occupied Kashmir, who were forced to leave their homeland and whose families are being oppressed.
On this occasion, BISP Chairperson Ms. Rubina Khalid said that BISP is the country’s largest welfare project, which is benefiting millions of deserving families across Pakistan, especially women. “The program is working to make women independent based on the vision of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and it was implemented by former President Asif Ali Zardari.”
Chairperson Khalid further said that a new banking model is being introduced under BISP, under which bank accounts of deserving women will be opened so that there is no deduction in their assistance amount.
Along with this, verification will be done every three years to make the registration process more transparent so that more deserving families can join this program.
She said that the Benazir Hunarmand Program is also being launched under BISP, which aims to make the children of deserving women self-sufficient by making them skilled. Similarly, under the Benazir Development Program, financial assistance is being provided to pregnant women so that the health of the mother and child can improve.
At the end of the ceremony, the Acting President of Azad Kashmir presented a souvenir to the Chairman Benazir Income Support Program.
