ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has filed a reference against Farzana Raja, a former Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) chairperson and a sitting PPP MNA, for abuse of power.
In a petition filed in an Islamabad accountability court on Monday, NAB accused Raja of causing a Rs1.5 billion loss to the national exchequer. She is currently in the US.
NAB Chairperson Justice (r) Javed Iqbal approved the reference against the PPP leader on December 3, 2019.
In January, PM’s Special Assistant on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation and current BISP Chairperson Sania Nishtar revealed that nearly 140,000 government employees had been receiving payments under the welfare scheme.
She said 2,543 government officials from grade 17 to 21 were listed as beneficiaries. This was on both provincial and federal levels.
A few days prior to the revelation, Nishtar had announced the removal of 820,000 “undeserving” beneficiaries.
