Lahore: Chairperson of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), Senator Rubina Khalid, has reiterated that BISP is dedicated to empowering and serving the underprivileged segments of society, regardless of political affiliation or religion.Speaking to media representatives at the BISP Central Zonal Office in Lahore, Senator Rubina Khalid stated, 'BISP is currently providing financial assistance to over 9.8 million impoverished and deserving families without discrimination. This programme has restored identity and dignity to Pakistan's underprivileged women and significantly boosted the birth registration rate due to the mandatory B-form requirement.'She added that 'this programme was the vision of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. The credit for implementing it goes to President Asif Ali Zardari. Uniquely, BISP designates the woman as the head of the household-an empowering and progressive step that sets this initiative apart from all others.'Senator Rubina Khalid also shared that in a progressive s tep for Balochistan, the PMT (Proxy Means Test) score threshold for accessing the Benazir Nashonuma and Taleemi Wazaif programmes has been raised from 32 to 60, significantly widening the net of health and education support for underprivileged families in the province. In a milestone towards economic upliftment, she announced the launch of the Benazir Hunarmand Programme, designed to equip BISP beneficiary women and their family members with vocational and market-driven skills. 'There is growing demand for skilled labor globally. Our goal is to help families stand on their own feet and break the cycle of poverty,' she noted.Moreover, Senator Rubina Khalid said that BISP is adopting a new banking model, onboarding six major banks to facilitate digital payments. In collaboration with the State Bank of Pakistan, the programme is piloting the opening of biometrically verified bank accounts for beneficiary women, enabling secure and dignified disbursement of aid.The Chairperson emphasized that under the specia l directives of the President of Pakistan, Mr. Asif Ali Zardari, BISP is committed to respectful, transparent, and efficient delivery of services. 'A robust grievance redressal system is in place to resolve complaints related to unauthorized deductions or service lapses,' she said.Highlighting the programme's growing international recognition, Senator Rubina Khalid noted that several African and Western countries have conducted study tours to learn from the National Socio-Economic Registry (NSER) and BISP's modern systems-acknowledging it as a benchmark model for social protection. She reminded the public that BISP does not charge any fees for surveys, and there are no physical survey forms. All official communication is sent only via 8171.Senator Rubina Khalid concluded by reaffirming that Benazir Income Support Programme operates under an open-door policy. 'Corruption and irregularities will not be tolerated. If we receive any complaint of malpractice, strict and immediate action will be taken,' she ass erted.