The government has released Rs49.2 billion funds for the Kifalat Programme, however, disbursement to those yet to be identified through SMS and the district government is yet to begin.

An official said that Rs49.2 billion has been released to the two banks selected for payment to Kifalat beneficiaries under Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme announced by the government to financially support the families affected by the coronavirus.

He added that under the first phase started on Thursday, cash assistance would be disbursed to 4.1 million families registered in Kifalat Programme out of total 4.5 million families and remaining 0.4 million would be covered in the second phase expected to start by next week.

The Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) official also confirmed release of Rs49.2 billion and maintained that three million deserving families have already been selected through SMS.

He added that those families had been communicated through messages that payment would be made to them by next week in the second phase as well as to those Kifalat beneficiaries left in the first phase.

According to the official the third phase for the selection of 3.5 million families would certainly be a challenge and might take quite a long time because identification of deserving families were to be made by the district governments of the provinces, AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan and the filtration process would be run on these lists to ensure that there was no political interference.

The official stated that the biometrically-enabled payment operation had started across the country - the provinces, GB, AJK, and Islamabad Capital Territory. Cash transfers were being made after biometric verification of each beneficiary through Nadra.

People have begun collecting cash from biometrically-enabled payment points of Habib Bank in Punjab , Sindh and Balochistan, and Bank Alfalah across the KP, GB and the AJK, he added.