Special Ass­is­tant to the Prime Minis­ter on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation Dr. Sania Nishtar conducted a press conference to explain the government decision to exclude over 800,000 people from among the beneficiaries of the BISP after describing them “undeserving” and said that really poor people would be enlisted in the BISP.  She said the decision had been taken in order to ensure transparency and merit. “These beneficiaries could not fulfil the criteria fixed for getting income support from the social safety net, so they were found to be ineligible for the assistance. A survey conducted 10 years ago identified these beneficiaries whose financial position might have improved during this long period of time. It is also possible that these people had never been truly deserving of the stipend. The screening was done through a forensic analysis,” Dr. Nishtar told reporters at a press conference. Full footage can be accessed here.