Dec 30, 2020 – Islamabad: SAPM Dr. Sania Nishtar chaired the joint meeting of Risk Assurance and Management, and Audit Committees of BISP board, where a number of agenda items were discussed. Since Ehsaas’ operations are largely digital, it is critical to ensure that IT safety measures are in place; more than 100 steps have been taken to secure the IT system in that regard over the last 2 years, since she took over, Dr. Sania informed the committee members. “We will be organizing a hackers competition inviting ethical hackers to outline our vulnerabilities”, she said. Ehsaas will be the first public sector entity to implement a Vulnerability Disclosure Policy that is intended to give ethical hackers clear guidelines for submitting potentially unknown and harmful security vulnerabilities. The discussion of the Risk Committee mainly centered on internal and external audits, Ehsaas Risk Registry, Error Fraud and Corruption Framework, implementation of security safeguards within the organization and setting up of the Cyber Control Wing. Also, under observation were Ehsaas Governance and Integrity Policy and Observatory and how the organization was faring against 23 indicators of the policy and observatory to gauge the performance of BISP.

Dec 30, 2020 – Islamabad: Provincial Minister of Punjab for Livestock and Dairy Development, Sardar Hasnain Bahadar called on SAPM Dr. Sania Nishtar. He shared important insights about the importance of livestock for improving the lives of the disadvantaged under Ehsaas Amdan. Secretary Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division, Muhammad Ali Shahzada and Secretary BISP, Yousuf Khan were also present.

Dec 27, 2020 – Islamabad: SAPM Dr. Sania Nishtar made an unannounced visit to Tarlai Panagah (shelter home) in Islamabad. The visit meant to spot-check the quality of food and shelter services being provided to needy labourers. During the visit, she interacted with the labourers and staff at the Panagah and checked the compliance of prioritized catering and living standards.

Dec 24, 2020 – Islamabad: To explore what the government needs to do to support private sector that runs old age homes, SAPM Dr. Sania Nishtar made a surprise visit to an old age home in suburbs of Islamabad. She was accompanied by Managing Director Pakistan Bait ul Mal. At the old age home, she met with the elderly people living there without families and reviewed facilities.

Dec 24, 2020 – Islamabad: SAPM Dr. Sania Nishtar convened a half day strategy session to plan the second generation reforms under the Ehsaas Kafaalat. The session was attended by the BISP team responsible for the implementation of Kafaalat programme. BISP is one of the 34 executing agencies of Ehsaas. The meeting featured a working session on improving the quality of service for Kafaalat beneficiaries, which later presented recommendations for onward reforms.

Dec 23, 2020 – Islamabad: Chairing a conference on national initiatives to address gender based discrepancies and for the promotion of legal, economic and social empowerment of women, President Dr. Arif Alvi said that women could not be empowered without their economic empowerment. Speaking at the closing session of the event, SAPM Dr. Sania Nishtar outlined myriad measures taken under the Ehsaas 50%+Benefits Policy to stipulate equality and socio-economic transformation of disadvantaged women. The conference was also attended by Law Minister Farogh Nasim, Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari, Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood, Information Minister Shibli Faraz, SAPM on Health Dr. Faisal Sultan, and others.

Dec 23, 2020 – Islamabad: Ehsaas held a consultative meeting with the World Bank to discuss the data protection bill. The discussion took place at the BISP headquarters and was attended by SAPM Dr. Sania Nishtar, senior officials of Ehsaas and experts from the World Bank.

Dec 21, 2020 – Islamabad: At the Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division (PASSD), SAPM Dr. Sania Nishtar convened two back to back Ehsaas meetings. The first meeting was held with Ehsaas Tahafuz team to take stock of progress and review where last-minute snags need to be addressed before the pilot execution. The second meeting took place with the Ehsaas Delivery Unit team to review the cadence of delivery across several components of the Ehsaas program. In both meetings, Secretary PASSD and Joint Secretary PASSD were also in attendance.

Dec 18, 2020 – Islamabad: The 44^th board meeting of BISP took place at the BISP headquarters in Islamabad. SAPM Dr. Sania Nishtar chaired the meeting. BISP is one of the 34 implementing agencies of Ehsaas. Since Dec 2018, when Dr. Sania took over as a board chair, 15 BISP board meetings have been held and all board sub-committees are regularly meeting in line with the Ehsaas Governance and Integrity Policy. The board meeting was attended by Secretary BISP, Secretary Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division, and senior officials and representatives from the Finance Division, Economic Affairs Division, NADRA and private sector.

Dec 18, 2020 -Islamabad: Ehsaas virtually hosted a knowledge sharing session on, ‘Digital & Financial Inclusion’ with global experts and international practitioners. SAPM Dr. Sania Nishtar joined the session together with Ehsaas team. The session aimed to discuss transition towards opening of mobile wallets for Ehsaas beneficiaries, who are at the bottom of the pyramid. With the view to review and reflect on experiences and lessons gained, the session brought together practitioners from South Africa, Bangladesh, Columbia and Pakistan.

Dec 18, 2020 – Rawalpindi: Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Sania Nishtar visited a Panagah (shelter home) in Raja Bazar, Rawalpindi. She interacted with the residents and inquired about their well-being. She also took round of the Panagah to see the infrastructure and facilities. Chairman Rawalpindi Development Authority briefed her about the arrangements made at the facility to serve food and shelter to the deserving in this extremely cold weather. Dr. Sania appreciated the state of cleanliness and well managed facilities at the Panagah. Talking to newsmen, Dr. Sania said that Prime Minister has instructed the launch of more Panagahs for the deserving and in the next phase, Panagahs across the country would gradually be remodeled.