In yet another embarrassing development for the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the government’s lawyer has told the Supreme Court (SC) that Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) — a flagship project of the Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) government for poverty reduction — was renamed as Ehsaas — a similar and much-boasted-about initiative by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan.
As per the details, Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan on Tuesday told the apex court that the data collected by BISP, “which had been renamed as Ehsaas”, was being used by the government to ensure that money reaches the poor amid lockdowns due to the spread of coronavirus.
A five-member larger bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed and comprising Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed was hearing the case regarding the closure of hospitals in the country during the global outbreak.
During the course of proceedings, the AGP apprised the court that he had talked to Special Assistant to the PM (SAPM) on Health Dr Zafar Mirza regarding the court’s query about the closure of out-patient departments of hospitals, who wanted to give a briefing to the court on the steps taken by the government in the health sector. The government was taking steps to combat the virus, he added.
Justice Umar Ata Bandial said the government had to help the people on the ground. “If there were local governments, the people would have been helped at the grassroots level,” he said, adding that the local government system in the country, including Islamabad, was dysfunctional.
The CJP said the government’s job was not to keep employees on contract instead of appointing on a regular basis.
The AGP said that the federal cabinet had discussed the matter.
The CJP asked the government to appoint all employees on a regular basis in all the departments of hospitals. “Many cases were pending in the SC regarding the regularisation of employees,” he remarked.
CJP Gulzar further said the government had appointed the employees on a contract basis, instead of recruiting them through the Public Service Commission.
He said the parliament should be in session at all times to formulate new laws. The job of courts was not to make laws, he added.
The CJP then asked who was being paid under the Ehsaas programme, to which the AGP replied that the government would give money to those below the poverty line.
“How will the government know if money reached the poor or not?” the top judge question.
“The data collected by BISP, which had been renamed as Ehsaas, is being used,” the lawyer said in response, adding that Ehsaas programme had been approved by a foreign agency.
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PPP REACTS:
Reacting to the revelation, PPP Information Secretary Dr Nafisa Shah has expressed her shock and said that a law made by the parliament could not be changed.
“Thousands of poor have been left without income support by the people who are haters of the late Benazir Bhutto,” she said in a statement and asked what kind of Ehsaas took away bread from the poor women of Pakistan.
Shah said that this was the time when the neglected needed the most help, but the government had let them down.
“BISP had given confidence to the poor women of Pakistan. By changing the name of this programme poor women have been deprived of their income. Imran Khan and his government have no right or authority to change the name of a programme established by [the] parliament,” she concluded.
