April 13, 2020 – Islamabad: As the Ehsaas Emergency Cash distribution scales up countrywide, so does the resolve to fight embezzlement and fraudsters on the ground. On several complaints by the people, 36 looters have been arrested in Punjab, while 26 of them were arrested in Sindh and 10 in KP for illegally deducting money from the cash they paid to deserving people under the Ehsaas Emergency Cash programme. Overall 64 FIRs have been registered countrywide against these 72 fraudsters. They would be dealt according to the law. Caveating fraudsters, Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation said, “No one would be allowed to illegally deduct any money from Ehsaas Emergency Cash payment to low-income families. Ehsaas is being supported by all state agencies on the ground to fight corruption. We are tracking FIRs in police stations and I want strict action against all fraudsters.” Vowing to fight corruption till her last breath, she stated, “I have also written a stern letter directing officials in Ehsaas regional offices to ensure transparency and full payments to beneficiaries.”
