ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety has directed the government to not bring structural changes in Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) with recommending that the basic structure shall stay unchanged as the organisation has done great job in uplifting the marginalised communities.
The committee’s meeting under the chairmanship of Senator Sardar Al Haj Muhammad Umer Gorgaij also recommended that the ministry provided details of budgetary allocations for all organisations under its jurisdiction, including a district-wise breakdown, with a special focus on the provinces of Balochistan and Sindh, in the next meeting.
On this occasion, PPAF Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nadir Gul Barech informed that the PPAF was created to address the nation’s multi-faceted poverty challenges by engaging civil society and developing and strengthening the micro-financing sector.
Barech presented an overview of ongoing initiatives, including micro-insurance schemes for agriculture and livestock, funded through government grants.
These programmes, active in Balochistan and Sindh, support small and medium enterprises and aim to transition 34 percent of BISP beneficiaries off social safety nets.
The CEO highlighted that similar mechanisms have been adopted by the UNHCR for Afghan refugee support and emphasised PPAF’s national and international recognition for its impactful contributions. Notable achievements include the skill development of 1.1 million individuals and the reconstruction of 122,000 houses following the 2008 earthquake, supported by extensive data shared with the committee.
Primarily, he said that PPAF in collaboration with the civil society cater to the basic facilities of the community like health and education. Over the course of years, with a footprint in over 149 districts of Pakistan, PPAF has provided interest-free loans to 3.2 million beneficiaries and inculcated skill development in over 1.161 million individuals.
Likewise, PPAF has formed 150,000 community organisations and extended a helping hand to over 39,000 disabled persons. As far as the financial operations of the organisation are concerned, the Government of Pakistan has provided Rs1 billion as an endowment fund to sustain the organisation and lent around Rs17.56 billion under the World Bank and IFAD projects, out of which, Rs13.24 billion has been repaid.
Senator Aon Abbas raised concerns over the alleged rumours of PPAF being included in government rightsizing list. He emphasised the importance of PPAF being the only organisation with nominal foothold of political intervention as the country has witnessed the downfall of profit-making organisations due to political intervention. The committee, unanimously, opposed any change in numerical structure of the organisation and recommended that the former basic structure shall stay unchanged.
Furthermore, Senator Rubina Qaim Khani highlighted several complaints pertaining to blockage of BISP beneficiary card and the third-party commission agents depriving poor masses of the due share of their stipend by keeping half of amount in lieu of withdrawal charges. She also inquired about the existing beneficiaries of BISP, while urging transparency in BISP disbursements.
Departmental representative of the BISP informed that the existing number of BISP beneficiaries is around 9.3 million families and the current number will reach 10 million families by the end of this financial year.
However, as per the recent survey, it has been observed that there are around 14 million families living below the poverty line and the current financial constraints have made it difficult to include all the eligible families into the programme.
Furthermore, the representatives from Trust Voluntary Organization (TVO) briefed the committee on its performance, functions and budget position. It was apprised that the TVO was created in 1990 under the Special Development Fund agreement signed between the Government of Pakistan and the United States of America with an endowment fund of USD 30 million by USAID. The prime role of the organisation is to strengthen the already working NGOs and CBOs for women in development and community building activities in rural areas of Pakistan. Importantly, TVO is a self-sufficient organisation and has not received any additional funding from the Government of Pakistan in last eight years.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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