BISP Chairperson Advocates Devolution of Health, Education Programs to Strengthen Federation

Independent Report
Karachi, 07 January 2026:
Senator Rubina Khalid, Chairperson of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), emphasized the need to devolve health and education initiatives to provincial governments to strengthen the federation. She made these remarks during her visit to the Sindh Social Protection Authority (SSPA), where she was welcomed by Sindh’s Minister for Social Protection, Saeed Ghani, and briefed by SSPA CEO Irshad Sodhar.
Senator Khalid stated that while BISP’s core cash support program should remain federal, health and education schemes would be more effective under provincial oversight. She expressed interest in establishing a robust data integration system with Sindh for better program coordination.
DG NSER BISP Dr. Asim Aizaz highlighted that Sindh has 9.8 million households, with 9.1 million registered in BISP, and 2.65 million currently receiving unconditional cash support under the Benazir Kafalat Program. CEO SSPA Irshad Sodhar added that under the Mamta Program, 910,000 mothers have been registered, and over 4 million hospital check-ups have been conducted, demonstrating enhanced social protection delivery through federal-provincial collaboration.