FIA Arrests Six In BISP Fraud Crackdown

MULTAN: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) carried out a raid at a Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) office in Kot Addu on Monday, arresting six retailers accused of illegally collecting money from women receiving BISP assistance, according to the FIR.

Investigators alleged that the suspects charged Rs1,500 from each beneficiary for mobile SIM cards that were meant to be issued free of charge. During the operation, authorities recovered SIM cards, biometric verification devices, mobile phones, and identity cards from the accused.

A criminal case has been registered against the suspects in Dera Ghazi Khan.

The operation follows a similar FIA raid conducted last week in Hyderabad, where three alleged BISP agents — Rashid Ali, Furqan, and Ahmed Khan — were arrested at M/S JJ Communications over allegations of defrauding beneficiaries.

Two of those suspects are government employees, and all three have been booked under a First Information Report (FIR).

The latest action comes as authorities intensify investigations into alleged irregularities in BISP payments. On July 22, a subcommittee of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), chaired by Moin Amir Pirzada, reviewed suspected irregularities involving more than Rs19 billion in BISP disbursements made between FY2010-11 and FY2022-23.

Audit officials informed the committee that funds had been withdrawn outside beneficiaries' registered districts and provinces in violation of programme rules. They further revealed that payments linked to beneficiaries from 39 districts had reportedly been processed through a single mobile shop franchise in Multan. More than half of the 92 sampled beneficiaries could not be located, while payments were also found to have been made to 21 deceased individuals.

FIA officials sought an additional two weeks to coordinate with BISP and complete the investigation, prompting the committee chairman to question why little progress had been made over the previous eight months.

The committee also examined cases involving government employees, pensioners, and their spouses who allegedly received BISP payments. Pirzada questioned the action taken against senior officials, stressing that the Rs4,000 monthly stipend is intended for the country's poorest citizens. The BISP Additional Secretary responded that most employees under investigation belonged to lower grades and that departmental inquiries had been conducted, although no official had been dismissed.

PPP Senator Saleem Mandviwalla also criticised BISP's reliance on deputation staff, arguing that it had weakened institutional oversight. The subcommittee subsequently deferred the matter until its next meeting.