KHYBER AGENCY - Local tribesmen Monday strongly condemned shifting of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) centre to Peshawar. They said this act was a huge injustice with the poor and deserving tribal women benefiting from the scheme.
They said the scheme was smoothly functioning and was extending financial assistance to womenfolk through Pakistan local post office but ironically because of unknown reasons, last April the project had been dislocated which had added to the miseries of people. It is unaffordable for tribal women to travel 55 kilometers away for receiving monetary support, they remarked.
Haji Mujahid, a local elder expressed dissatisfaction over the new procedure has been formulated for the scheme according to which a female has to visit BISP office located at Shah Tahmas Stadium, Shahi Bagh, Peshawar for getting Benazir Debt Card (BDC) after her thoroughly identification.
Mujahid further said that getting BDC was not an easy task especially for tribal women as thousands of beneficiaries were standing in long queues from dawn to dust. He further said that after prolong and well-awaited procedure a lucky beneficiary move forward to get ATM card from Al-Flah Bank in Peshawar Saddar which was another headache and complicated problem for uneducated persons.
He suggested keeping in view difficulties being faced by the tribal women, the  Benazir Income Support Programme  team should pay weekly visit to Landikotal and compiled needed formalities in the town. Furthermore, he asked the authorities concerned to initiate ATM facilities at the local branch of consumer bank (Habib Bank) for convenience of tribal women.
Hamid Shinwari, a tribal youth and resident of Mirdad Khel, said that eleven beneficiaries of his family travelled twice to the avenue of the BISP but returned back with broken hearts. He came hard on the managers of office and said that no separate counter had been reserved for womenfolk, which was not only against the teachings of Islam but also Pakhtun tradition.
 “It was impossible for a veiled woman to line up publicly under an open sky in scorching heat,” he added.
The tribesmen asked for re-establishment of BISP at local level to facilitate the tribal woman at their own villages.
When Assistant Director  Benazir Income Support Programme,  Kamran Jan, and Assistant Complaint Officer MohammadUllah Afridi were contacted on the matter they said that when embezzlement was exposed in old process of BISP through local post offices, on the request of beneficiaries BDC system was initiated. They said it was risky to send BISP mobile vans to far-flung and militancy-hit areas. However, they vowed the issue would be taken up with their high-ups to address grievances of tribesmen.