1 (6th Session) NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SECRETARIAT

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(6th Session)

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SECRETARIAT

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“QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWERS AND THEIR REPLIES”

to be asked at a sitting of the National Assembly to be held on

Wednesday, the 6th November, 2013

(Originally Starred Question Nos. 110, 117, 76, 87, 111, 112, 116, 117, 120,124, 130 and 131 were set down for answer during the 5th Session)

110. *Sahibzada Muhammad Yaqub :

Will the Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat be pleased tostate:

(a) whether it is a fact that heavy loss has been caused to theagricultural land in District Lower Dir during floods 2010 and2011;

(b) if so, the steps taken by the Government in this regard?

Minister In-Charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : (a), (b) It is statedthat above mentioned question is a provincial subject and does not fall under thepurview of Climate Change Division as the Provinces are dealing with the provincialsubjects after 18th Constitutional Amendment. Government of KhyberPakhtunkhwa may be approached in this regard.

117. *Mr. Imran Zafar Leghari :


(a) the steps being taken to protect the country from environmentalpollution specifically from open sewerage water being used for

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agricultural purpose, causing health hazard to the citizens aswell as to the animals in the country;

(b) whether there is any proposal under consideration of theGovernment to stop the utilization of polythene bags to protectthe environment of the country; and

(c) the details of NGOs working with the Government to motivatethe public for the utilization of paper bags instead of polythenebags in the country?

Minister In-Charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : (a) To protect thecountry from environmental pollution, Government of Pakistan has enacted thePakistan Environment Protection Act – 1997 which provides the legal frameworkto handle issues pertaining to environmental degradation. The Federal Governmenthas also introduced the National Environment Quality Standards (NEQS) whichprovide the benchmarks for control of pollutants. Apart from NEQS thegovernment has also introduced some other regulations/rules for protection of theenvironment. Pakistan is also signatory to several International Conventionspertaining to environmental protection and is bound to adhere to the covenants ofthese conventions.

Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) is the primaryfederal agency to oversee issues regarding pollution in ICT. The provincialgovernments have their own Environment Protection Agencies (EPAs).

After l8th Amendment in Constitution, the subject of environmental pollutionhas been devolved to the provinces. They are in the process of making their ownlaws and institutional arrangements pertaining to environmental pollution. Hence,provincial governments are responsible for controlling environmental pollutioncaused by sewerage water in their jurisdictions.

In ICT following measures have been taken to control environmentalpollution:

i. The CDA has installed two waste water treatment plants with capacityof 17 and 5 million gallons per day in Sector I-9 to treat sewage ofthe city. The capacity of these sewerage treatment plants is sufficientto treat city sewage.

ii. For the rural areas, there is no proper system of severs or treatmentfacility in areas like; Bara Kahu, Bani Gala, Muslim Colony,

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Bari Imam and they are dumping their raw sewage into fresh waterstreams of Rawal Lake. The Supreme Court of Pakistan took SuoMoto Case No. 13 of 2010 and directed CDA/ICT to stop sewagedirectly being thrown in the fresh streams of Rawal Lake by theillegal/unlawful settlements. After carrying out comprehensive studyof the Rawal Lake catchment areas CDA/ICT have identified foursewerage treatment plants and prepared a PC-I and submitted it tothe Planning & Development Division for securing funds for thepurpose.

iii. 134 cases were registered in the Environmental Protection Tribunal(EPT) against the residents of Bari Imam, Bhara Kahu, Bani Galaand Muslim Colony who were dumping raw sewage into the freshwater streams of catchment areas of Rawal Lake.

iv. Legal Notices have been issued to 5 housing societies i.e. NationalPolice Foundation, Multi-Professional Housing Society, ServicesCooperative Society, Pakistan Medical Cooperative Housing Societyand Federal Employees Cooperative Housing Society for discharginguntreated waste water into rainwater stream.

(b) Climate Change Division adopted a two prong strategy to controland discourage use of polythene bags viz;

• Introduction of bio-degradable bags in compliance with NationalAssembly Resolution No. 9 dated 24-04-2010 and

• Launching campaign “Say No to Plastic Bag” as far as possible.

In this regard, oxo-biodegradable plastic bags Regulation was notifiedvide S.R.O No. 5(KE)/2013, dated 23rd January, 2013 banning non-degradableplastic bags and only allowed manufacturing, sale and usage of oxobiodegradablebags in the limits of ICT. The Provincial Governments have also been requested tofollow the same.

(c) Climate Change Division intends to develop awareness program toencourage use of paper bags and NGOs will be involved. So far no NGO isworking in our regular activity.

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76. *Sheikh Rashid Ahmed :

Will the Minister In-charge of Cabinet Secretariat be pleased to state:

(a) the total number of mobile phone consumers in the country atpresent;

(b) the total amount of the revenue collected by the Government astax during the year 2012-13?

Minister In-Charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : (a) The total numberof Mobile phone subscribers in the country upto June 2013 was 128,254,895.

(b) Tax Collection is domain of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

87. *Dr. Arif Alvi :

Will the Minister In-charge of Cabinet Secretariat be pleased to state:

(a) whether it is a fact that ratio of line dropping has increasedsignificantly during the last few years due to poor services beingprovided by the Telecom Operators; if so the reasons thereof; and

(b) the action taken by the Government against the responsible?

Minister In-Charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : (a) Telecom operatorsare mandated to maintain Quality of Service (QoS) Key Performance Indicators(KPIs) as laid down in their respective licenses. Pakistan TelecommunicationAuthority (PTA) continuously monitors the performance in terms of service qualityof all the telecom operators regularly through surveys/ inspections.

• Fixed Line Telecom Services. In Fixed Line Telecom Sector, insteadof line drop a phenomenon of Call Failure Rate (CFR) is used tomeasure the ratio (i.e. Number of Calls Attempt Failed to TotalNumber Calls Attempt) for local, nationwide and internationalincoming/ outgoing calls.

• The ratio of CFR has not increased during the last few years. In fact,it was inline with the KPIs laid down in respective licenses.

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• Mobile Telecom Services. The relevant KPI for service quality inwireless telecom services for line dropping is called Call CompletionRation (CCR). Generally, all Cellular Mobile Operators have beencomplying this KPI as laid down in the relevant Licenses andRegulations.

• It is pertinent to mention that monitoring of QoS is a continuousprocess; therefore, PTA has been conducting QoS Surveys/inspections on regular basis since 2002. Initially the mobile surveyswere conducted manually, however, in line with the best internationalpractices; PTA has procured state of the art QoS computerizedmonitoring equipment. In addition, PTA has also acquired the samefrom mobile companies which measures the performance and provideautomated survey results.

(b) Based on survey results, necessary action is initiated against defaultercompanies including issuance of warning and initiation of 16 showcause notices to mobile operators for not meeting the QoS standerdsas per their licence conditions the QoS results are also published inthe National press for public awarenss.

111. *Sheikh Rashid Ahmed :


(a) the time by which ban on jobs will be lifted; and

(b) whether the said ban is also applicable on Higher EducationalInstitutions?

Minister In-Charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : (a) The ban onRecruitment was imposed on 20-6-2013 under the direction of the Prime Minister'sOffice and will be lifted as and when the Prime Minster's Office will consider itappropriate and inform this Division.

(b) The above ban is applicable to all Federal Ministries/Divisions/Autonomous Bodies/Corporations including the Higher Educational Institutions.

However, the ban placed on recruitments shall not be applicable to thefollowing:—

(i) The post being filled in through FPSC.

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(ii) Appointments of Heads of Public Sector Organization, ChiefExecutive Officers (CEOs) and similar other appointments whichare being made either in compliance of the decision of the courtthrough prescribed procedure or wherein operational need requiressuch appointments.

(iii) Recruitment in constitutional bodies; and

(iv) Recruitment against “Assistance Package for families of GovernmentEmployees who die in service” due to operational needs and onhumanitarian grounds.

112. *Dr. Shireen Mehrunnisa Mazari :


(a) the ratio of staff actually working/required to sustain the PIA’soperations alongwith the excess/redundant contractual andpermanent staff working, but, still getting full pay/perks thereinat present; and

(b) the time by which the hiring of employees for PIA will berationalized in commercial and economic terms basis?

Minister In-Charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : (a) Presently, HRStrength of PIAC is 18,939, break-up of which is as under :—

• Regular employees 15,586

• Pak based employees abroad 138

• Contractual Staff 207

• Daily Wagers 2,734

Total ................ 18,665

It is pertinent to mention here that out of 18,939 employees, 7,789 areattached with the departments related to the non-core activities of PIA. Rest ofthe employees are attached to the department related to core activities of PIA.Break-up is as under:—

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• PIA (Maintenance, Repair & Overhauling- MRO) 4,116• Airport Service 2,429• Technical Ground Support 666• Speedex (Courier Service) 43• Cargo 730• Flight Kitchen 738• PIA Training Center 136

Currently, PIA fleet consist of 34 aircrafts, out of which 25 are operational.The employee to aircraft ratio of PIA is 1 : 557 where as world best practicesare 1:120.

(b) The manpower requirement in PIA is determined through its HRB tobe approved by the PIAC Board as amended from time to time as per Corporation'srequirement. ECC in its meeting held on 26th February 2013, directed to preparea business development plan of PIA that includes HR rationalization. The samewill be finalized soon after due process. However, for the purpose of right sizingvarious non-operational or economically non-viable domestic and internationaloffices of PIA have been closed. Further different economically non-viable routeshave also been closed temporarily till the availability of sufficient fleet of suitableaircraft. Rationalization of HR may take 5 years as under the Government policythe employees are to be layed off through the process of attrition.

116. *Syed Naveed Qamar :


(a) the total estimated requirement of planes for PIA to maintainthe current traffic projections alongwith the breakdown of wide/narrow bodied and turbo-props thereof;

(b) the category-wise total number of planes of PIA at present;

(c) whether PIA has a plan to induct more planes in PIA in the nearfuture; if so, the details including make, date of procurement,method of procurement, price (buy or lease) and the date bywhich those planes will be operational in PIA; and

(d) the financial loss suffered by PIA due to lack of aircrafts duringthe year 2012 and 2013?

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Minister In-Charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : (a) Approximately,39 Aero Planes are required to maintain the current traffic projections along withthe breakdown of wide/narrow bodies and turbo-props is as follows:—

——————————————————————————————S. No. Type of Aircraft No. of Units Fleet

required——————————————————————————————

1. B-777-300ER 32. B-777-200ER 43. B-777-200LR 2 Requirement from PIA’s4. A-310 8 existing fleet5. B-737 26. ATR-42 67. B-777-200 (All economy) 38. Narrow Body (172 Seater) 6 Additional requirement

on lease9. Narrow Body (142 Seater) 5

——————————————————————————————Total 39

——————————————————————————————(b) Following is the category wise total number of aircraft in PIA fleet at

present:—

——————————————————————————————S. No. Type of Aircraft Number

——————————————————————————————1. B-777-240ER/340ER/240LR 092. B-747-300 043. B-737-300 034. A-310 125. ATR-42 06

—————————————————————————————— Total 34

——————————————————————————————(c) PIA has been trying to induct Narrow Body aircraft since last few

years. At present, the airline plans to induct upto ten Narrow Body aircraft. In thisregard, two separate tenders have been floated inviting offers of upto ten aircrafton dry lease. Last dates for submission of offers against tenders for dry lease are23rd September, 2013 and 11th October, 2013.

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(d) Total loss after tax suffered by PIA for the financial year ended31st December, 2012 is PKR 33.01 billion.

117. *Saman Sultana Jaffri :


(a) the security measures being taken to control untoward incidentsin PIA at present; and

(b) whether it is a fact that passengers are issued boarding passesbut fail to board creating anxiety and security threat to the flight;if so, the steps being taken by PIA in this regard?

Minister In-Charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : (a) There are StandingOperating Procedures (SOPs) to deal with each eventuality, such as;

— Strike call by trade unions and other pressure groups.

— Ugly situation created by waiting passengers inside airport loungesand inside aircraft.

— Bomb threat calls.

— Unruly Passengers.

— Theft and pilferage in passenger baggage.

These SOPs are part of PIA Security Manual and disseminated to allconcerned with the direction to follow then in letter and spirit.

(b) It is fact that some passengers are found missing at boarding gate(s)following issuance of boarding cards. In order to obviate such situations, followingmeasures are taken:—

— Positive boarding control is ensured i.e. the check-in and boardingfigures are reconciled.

— Repeated announcements are made to locate the missing passengers.— If the passengers remain missing, baggage identification drill is carried

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out whereby all the checked baggage on the flight is linked-up foridentification by the passengers. In case any baggage remainsunidentified, same is offloaded alongwith the missing passenger(s)

— Regardless of delay, it is ensured that flight departs without any securityissue.

120. *Sabiha Nazir :

Will the Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat be pleased tostate the year in which the PIA went into loss?

Minister In-Charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : The PIAC startedincurring losses since the year, 2004.

124. *Begum Tahira Bukhari :


(a) whether it is a fact that the ban on new recruitments has beenimposed;

(b) whether it is also a fact that a large number of youth becameoverage due to said ban; and

(c) whether there is any proposal under consideration of theGovernment to increase the upper age limit for appointments inthe Ministries/Divisions; if so, when it will be implementedalongwith the details thereof?

Minister In-Charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : (a) Yes.

However, following categories of appointments are exempted from ban:—

(a) Posts which are required to be filled through FPSC.

(b) The appointments of Heads of Public Sector Organizations, ChiefExecutive Officers (CEOs) and similar other appointments whichare being made either in compliance of the decision of the court

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through prescribed procedure or wherein operational needs requiremaking such appointments.

(c) Appointments in constitutional bodies.

(d) Appointments 'of persons against “Assistance Package for Familiesof Government Employees who die in Service”.

(e) If there is a pressing need and justification could be provided, thesame will be considered for relaxation with the prior approval ofPrime Minister.

(b) General Age Relaxation up to 5 years for all posts in BS-1 to BS-22 ispermissible. Exemptions from the ban on recruitments are also considered oncase to case basis.

(c) No such proposal is under consideration.

130. Admissibility is being re-considered.

131. *Nafeesa Inayatullah Khan Khattak :

Will the Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat be pleased tostate:(a) the total amount paid by NDMA to the affectees of the floods

during the last three years till date;

(b) whether it is a fact that total approved amount has not beenpaid to those affectees; if so, the details thereof;

(c) the total amount received by the Government from foreigncountries for the above affectees so far; and

(d) the total number of cheques of those affectees which have notbeen encashed so far?

Minister In-Charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : (a) NDMA did notmake any cash compensation to the flood affectees of 2011 & 2012. Howeverthe cash compensation to the affectees of floods 2010 was made through WatanCard which was coordinated by Cabinet Division in collaboration with NADRA

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in two phases. As per our record Rs. 31.74 billion were disbursed in Phase-1 andRs. 9.2 billion in Phase-II to the affectees so far, as part of Watan Card andCitizen Damage Compensation Programme (CDCP) respectively. However, therelief provided by Federal/Provincial DMAs and others during last three years tillto date is attached as Annex-A.

(b) Cash compensation was coordinated by Cabinet Division incollaboration with NADRA. Therefore, the details may be sought from them.

(c) Relief items provided by foreign countries during flood 2011 isattached as per Annex B. However, the details of relief assistance as well asforeign funded projects are attached as per Annex ‘C’. As far as financial assistancefrom foreign countries in the aftermath of floods is concerned, the details may besought from Economic Affairs Division (EAD).

(d) The details may be sought from Cabinet Division.

(Annexures have been placed in the National Assembly Library)

31. *Dr. Shireen Mehrunnisa Mazari :


(a) whether it is a fact that the National Telecom and InformationTechnology Security Board issued guidelines for cyber securityafter a US security agency broke into Pakistan’s NationalSecurity Systems;

(b) if so, the name of that US Security Agency;

(c) the details of information accessed therefrom; and

(d) the steps taken by the Government against the said SecurityAgency?

Minister In-Charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : (a), (b), (c), (d)Policy directive and guidelines for Cyber Security were issued by the CabinetDivision as a routine affair and therefore was not a reaction to any media report.

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32. *Dr. Raja Aamer Zaman :

Will the Minister for Education, Trainings and Standards in HigherEducation be pleased to state:

(a) the role of HEC to set syllabus for Post Graduate Courses ofUniversities/Educational Institutions;

(b) the monitoring system of HEC to ensure the implementation ofsyllabus in letter and spirit;

(c) whether HEC conducted post-evaluation of the syllabus of theUniversities/Educational Institutions during the last five years;if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether it is a fact that the syllabus of certain disciplines ofUniversities/Educational Institutions is not at par with theinternational standard;

(e) if the answers to parts (a), (b) and (d) above are in theaffirmative, the steps being taken by the HEC to introduce wellequipped and unified syllabus for post graduate courses inUniversities/Educational Institutions in line with theinternational standard?

Minister for Education, Trainings and Standards in HigherEducation : (a) The Higher Education Commission under its Ordinance LIII of2002, Section 10, Sub-Section 1 (v) is required to “guide Institutions in designingcurricula that provides a proper content of basic sciences, social sciences,humanities, engineering and technology in the curricula of each level and guide andestablish minimum standards for good governance and management of Institutionsand advise the Chancellor of any institution on its statutes and regulations”.

In compliance with the above provisions, the Curriculum Division of HECundertakes task of revision of curricula through National Curriculum RevisionCommittee (NCRC) comprising of eminent Professors, Researchers from all publicand private sector universities, R&D organizations Council, Industry and CivilSociety from the relevant field, by seeking nominations for their representation.The curriculum of each field is revised on a three year cycle.

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(b) HEC provides guidelines to the universities/DAI's through curriculaprepared by respective NCRC’s (National Curriculum Revision Committees).The Curricula designed are printed and circulated to the universities/DAI’s for itsadoption/implementation. The universities/DAI's are requested to submit reporton the implementation of the curricula on a prescribed format to the HEC CurriculumDivision. The implementation process is also regularly monitored through IPES(Institutional Performance Evaluation System) and QEC’s (Quality EnhancementCells) established by HEC in universities under standards of Academic Programs& Curricula.

(c) HEC regularly review/revise the curricula of every subject after aninterval of three years through the respective NCRC's. Details of curricula revisedby HEC is available on HEC website: http://www.hec.gov.pk

(d) On the whole, the HEC revised Curriculum are at par withinternatinnal Standards. However, there exist variation in accordance with nationalrequirements with respect to quality of learning & research, need for innovation-and uniformity of curricula in the Universities-and affiliated colleges of Pakistan.

(e) HEC observes international standards for reviewing/revising of thecurricula. Following are the various steps taken by HEC to introduce well equippedand unified syllabus for post graduate courses in the universities/EducationalInstitutions in line with international standards.

• By incorporating the intellectual inputs by expatriate Pakistanisworking in universities and R&D organizations of technically advancedcountries while finalizing the Curriculum of a subject through NCRC.

• Selection criteria for the members of NCRC is based on certainparameters including qualification, experience in the relevant field,and contributions in the process of curriculum development at nationaland international level.

• Members of the NCRC are provided with the copies of curricula oftechnically advanced countries for consultation/comparison with localcurriculum in order to bring it at par with international standards.

• Final curricula are being sent to professional accreditation councilsand bodies like Pakistan Engineering Council, PMDC, PakistanNursing Council, Computing Education Accreditation Council etc.for their professional inputs.

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33. *Nafeesa Inayatullah Khan Khattak :


(a) whether there is any proposal under consideration of theGovernment to announce National Action Plan for education;if so, when it will be announced;

(b) the steps being taken by the Ministry to promote literacy in thecountry; and

(c) whether all the stake-holders including the ProvincialGovernments have been taken on board in this regard?

Minister for Education, Trainings and Standards in HigherEducation : (a) Ministry of Education, Trainings & Standards in Higher Education(MET&SHE) has already launched National Plan of Action on 3rd September,2013 to accelerate efforts towards achieving Universal Primary Education inshortest possible time.

(b) Ministry of Education, Trainings & Standards in Higher Education(MET&SHE) through National Commission for Human Development(NCHD),has established more than 1 lac 50 thousand literacy centres during the last tenyears, in which 3.2 million students were imparted literacy skills. NCHD has alsodevised a road map for the next 5 years during which it is planning to open 30,000literacy centres annually whereby approximately 0.75 million students will beadmitted each year, in addition to provincial activities.

(c) Yes, the Ministry coordinated with Provincial and Area Departmentsof Educations for developing National Plan of Action to achieve the MDG targets.Following a multi stakeholder consultative process, the Federal Ministry ofEducation and Provincial Departments of Education jointly organized eightprovincial/area workshops in April/May 2013 to develop Plans of Action. Theconsultative meetings were attended by Provincial Secretaries of Education,representatives of civil societies, UN agencies, and donors. Provincial Sector Planswere used as guiding documents for developing Plans of Action.

34. *Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho :


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(a) the number of youth to be given internship under YouthDevelopment Programme during the year 2013-14;

(b) the names of organizations wherein the said internship is to betaken; and

(c) the criteria to be adopted to monitor the said programme?

Minister for Education, Trainings and Standards in HigherEducation : (a) In all, more than 50,000 eligible applicants will be given internship/training under the said programme.

(b) Public and Private sector organizations all over the country.

(c) Eligibility criteria for the said programme is as follows:

• 16 years HEC recognized degree

• Upper age limit 25 years

• The upper age limit is 26 years for Less Developed Areas (i.e.Balochistan, Southern Punjab, Sindh-Rural, AJK, Gilgit-Baltistan,FATA, Malakand Division and Kohistan & D.I.Khan Districts.

The performance of interns will be monitored through periodic checks byFocal Persons/mentors to be designated by the provinces and host organizations.

35. *Dr. Arif Alvi :

Will the Minister for National Food Security and Research be pleasedto state:

(a) whether it is a fact that the major quantity of grains, vegetablesand fruits are wasted every year in the country due to lack ofstorage facilities and attacks of harmful Insects on crops; if so,the details thereof; and

(b) the steps being taken by the Government to provide storagefacilities near the cultivated areas/fields, establish modern foodsupply chains, develop cold storage infrastructure and improveoverall agricultural efficiency?

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Minister for National Food Security and Research (Mr. SikandarHayat Khan Bosan) : (a) Yes. Complete details of shortage of storage are notavailable. Similarly no exact figures of loss of horticulture products by pest attacksare available. It is, however, estimated at 10% annually.

In Public sector PASSCO and provincial food departments are engagedin procurement /storage of wheat in the country.

• Existing Storage capacity for wheat at National level is 4339,000tons. (Agri. Stat. Pakistan, 2010-11). Details are as under :

(in 000, tons)——————————————————————————————

Punjab Sindh KPK Balochistan PASSCO Defense AJKDivision &NA

—————————————————————————————————————2483 709 365 223 441 54 64

——————————————————————————————• For rice RECP has 826,000 tons storage capacity.

(b) 1. In the field of Cold storage facilities, Government has providedagricultural credit worth Rs. 1415.61 million (Agri. Stat.Pakistan, 2010- 11). Details are as under:

(Rs. in millions)——————————————————————————————Punjab Sindh KPK Balochistan AJK NA/GB

——————————————————————————————951.42 448.43 15.76 0 0 0

——————————————————————————————

2. For wheat the Government has taken step to build new silos byPASSCO to store wheat.

3. No significant program is part of PSDP for these facilities.

36. *Mr. Muhammad Muzammil Qureshi :

Will the Minister for Railways be pleased to state:

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(a) whether it is a fact that the Pakistan Railways has handed oversome of its business activities to its attached organizations andprivate sector; if so, the details alongwith the duration and therules and regulations thereof;

(b) the authority that granted approval therefor; and

(c) whether open bidding was held prior to the same; if so, whenalongwith the number of companies participated therein?

Minister for Railways (Khawaja Saad Rafique): (a) The CommercialManagement of two (2) trains i.e. Hazara Express & Rohi Express was handedover to M/s PRACS, a subsidiary of Pakistan Railways under an agreement w.e.f.13-01-2006 for a period of one (01) year extendable subject to the mutual consentof both the parties. PRACS was supposed to pay Pakistan Railways not only thefixed revenue returns as agreed; upon for the first year, that is 10% increase overand above the earnings of the base year, 2004-2005, but would also go into profitsharing formula on 60:40 basis (60% to Pakistan Railways and 40% to PRACS).

In addition to above, the commercial management of three trains plyingbetween Lahore and Karachi was outsourced to the Private Sector parties for aperiod of five years as per PPRA rules. The detail is as under:-

(i) Business Express Train was outsourced to M/s Four BrothersInternational (Pvt) Limited, Lahore w.e.f. 04-02-2012 @ 88% ofthe potential earning in the light of bid offered by the party, but on01st Jan. 2013, agreement was revised as instead of fixed amount, ithas been revenue sharing between. Pakistan Railways and JV Partner@ 80:20 respectively, fixing the minimum occupancy level at 65% ofthe capacity.

(ii) Shalimar Express Train was outsourced to M/s Air Rail Servicesw.e.f 26-02-2012 @ 70% of the potential earning.

(iii) Night Coach Train was outsourced to M/s Shalimar Group w.e.f.15-01-2013 @ 70% of the potential earning.

(b) The General Manager/Operations, being the competent authority,granted the approval.

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(c) Biddings were arranged as per PPRA rules under two envelopesystem:

(i) Technical Bid,(ii) Financial Bid.

The bidding process of Business Express Train started in 2011.Two parties participated in the bidding process

(i) M/s Sarfraz Associates

(ii) M/s Four Brothers International (Pvt) Limited.

The process of outsourcing the Commercial Management ofShalimar Express Train was started in 2011. Three (03) partiesparticipated in the bidding namely:

(i) M/s Ittehad Goods Transport Company(ii) M/s Aries Logistics(iii) Air Rail Services

The process of outsourcing the Commercial Management ofNight Coach Train initiated in 2012. Four parties participatedin the financiai Bidding

(i) M/s Aries Logistics(ii) M/s Shalimar Group(iii) M/s Israr & BROTHERS(iv) M/s Four Brothers International.

37. *Belum Hasnain :

Will the Minister for Education, Trainings and Standards In HigherEducation be pleased to state:

(a) the names of Universities functioning in the country which havenot yet been accredited/recognized by the Higher EducationCommission;

(b) the actions taken by the Government against such Universitiesduring the last five years till date; and

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(c) the status of degrees obtained by the students of thoseUniversities?

Minister for Education, Trainings and Standards in HigherEducation : (a) The list of Universities functioning in the country which have notyet been accredited/recognized by Higher Education Commission is attached atAnnex-A.

(b) The Higher Education Commission has taken following steps againstthe Universities/DAI's-not recognized by HEC:

i. HEC is coordinating with Provincial Higher Education to guide thenon-recognized Universities/DAI's to submit the feasibility report inlight of “Criteria Guidelines for the Establishment of a New University/DAI" duly approved by Federal Cabinet for the issuance of HECNOC. The letter issued to a newly Chartered University that havenot been recognized by HEC is placed at Annex-B.

ii. In case of grant of charter to a university by the Provincial/RegionalGovt. with out availing prior NOC from HEC, the university iscommunicated with all necessary guidelines for issuance of NOCand recognition of HEC.

iii. The degrees of such Universities/DAI's are not recognized by HEC.

iv. Parent Alerts are advertised after some time normally on quarterbasis in leading national newspapers for the awareness of studentsand their parents that not to enroll in HEC non-recognized Universities.

v. The Higher Education Commission in its 28th meeting held on April9, 2013 has shown a serious concern on grant of charter to theuniversities without securing NOC from HEC. The detailed decisionfrom minutes of the meeting (item # 19) is placed at Annex-C.

(c) Higher Education Commission does not attest the degrees ofUniversities/Degree Awarding Institutions that are not recognized/accredited byHEC.


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38. *Mr. Zaib Jaffar :


(a) whether it is a fact that only two Federal Government Hospitalsnamely Poly Clinic and PIMS are functioning in the IslamabadCapital Territory at present;

(b) whether it is also a fact that PIMS was originally established asan Institute for Research on Medical Science; if so, the reasonsof its conversion into a hospital;

(c) the authority who converted the said institute into a hospital;and

(d) whether there is any proposal under consideration of theGovernment to establish an alternative Research institute inIslamabad; if so, when it will be implemented alongwith thedetails thereof?

Minister In-Charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : (a) No, there is onemore hospital under Capital Administration and Development Division that isNational Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine (NIRM) and additionally C.D.AHospital is also working under the Ministry of Interior.

(b) The PIMS was started in October, 1985 under Ministry of HealthGovernment of Pakistan. Later on PIMS was declared as an autonomous bodythrough resolution which was notified on 16th October, 1986. According to theobjectives mentioned in the resolution, the Institute shall provide medical facilities.It will function as a reference center for the country as a national Institute andprovide specialist services of the international standard to cases referred by otherinstitutions. Research activities on health programs were one of the objectives.

(c) Not applicable.

(d) There is no such proposal under consideration.

39. *Mr. Sajid Ahmed :


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(a) whether it is a fact that the financial assistance is being providedto the people under Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP)in the country at present;

(b) if so, the monthly amount of assistance being provided to themalongwith the time by which said assistance will be increased?

Minister In-Charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : (a) Yes, Financialassistance is being provided by BISP to its beneficiaries.

(b) Financial assistance was being paid @Rs.1,000/- per month till 30thJune, 2013, however from 1st July 2013, this amount has been increased toRs.1.200/- per month per family.

40. *Sheikh Salahuddin :

Will the Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritagebe pleased to state whether there is any proposal under considerationof the Government to adopt’Urdu as official Language; if so, whenit will be implemented; if not, the reasons thereof?

Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage (Mr.Pervaiz Rashid) : The National Language Authority (now named as NationalLanguage Promotion Department) was set up for promoting Urdu as nationallanguage and facilitating its adoption as an official language in line with its mandate.NLA had been making its recommendations from time to time including detailedrecommendations made in 1981 and 2005.

2. With the approval of the Prime Minister, a Joint ParliamentaryCommittee comprising of six members nominated by the Chairman, Senate andthe Speaker, National Assembly, was constituted to provide input and to review/prioritize the recommendation made by National Language Authority for adoptionof Urdu as official language. The aforesaid committee has not been able to conveneits meeting and make any recommendations.

41. *Mr. Shafqat Mehmood :

Will the Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritagebe pleased to state:

(a) whether it is a fact that the PTV has not invited bids fortelecasting rights of Pakistan vs Sri Lanka and Pakistan vs SouthAfrica cricket series; and

23

(b) whether it is also a fact that it caused a loss of nine milliondollars to the PTV?

Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage (Mr.Pervaiz Rashid) : (a) PTV was not entitled to invite the bid for the two seriesPakistan Vs South Africa and Pakistan Vs Sri Lanka 2013, rather PCB was inposition to seek the bid which they did in piecemeal and not as 5 year global bid orseparately for the Pakistan territory.

(b) It is not a fact that non-participation in bidding process caused PTVa loss of USD 9 Million.

42. *Parveen Masood Bhatti :


(a) whether it is a fact that the Punjabi Programmes have beendiscontinued by the Radio Pakistan Bhawalpur; if so, the reasonsthereof; and

(b) whether there is any proposal under consideration of theGovernment to re-broadcast the said Programmes; if so, whenit will be implemented; if not, the reasons thereof?

Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage (Mr.Pervaiz Rashid) : (a) It is stated that no Punjabi Programme is being broadcastfrom PBC Bahawalpur Station for the last many years. Therefore, no PunjabiProgramme has been discontinued in the recent past.

(b) Yes, there is a proposal to broadcast one hour Punjabi Programmedaily from PBC Bahawalpur in the next quarter beginning from 1st January, 2014.

43. *Khalida Mansoor :


(a) the details of night packages of each mobile companyfunctioning in the country at present; and

24

(b) the justifications / reasons for offering those night packages?

Minister In-Charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : (a) Followingpackages are being offered by mobile operators and their details are attached asAnnex-

a. Zong - Free Packageb. Ufone Life Plusc. Warid Crazy Nitesd. Mobilink - Ghanta Offere. Telenor - Djuice Din Raat Offer

(b) i. As a result of effective competition among Cellular Mobile TelephonyOperators (CMTOs) due to deregulation, PTA abolished retails pricecap in 2005. This implies that that all CMTOs can offer tariff packageskeeping in view the needs of general public without approval fromthe Authority.

ii. The issue of late night packages was taken up with CMTOs by PTAin September 2012. In response to queries raised, the operatorssubmitted that they are “utilizing their idle capacity, economicalpackages are being offered to cater to the low income communitiesand they are following the relevant laws including the laws pertainingto observing cultural and moral values of Pakistan”. Summary ofresponses received from CMTOs is attached as Annex-2.

iii. Consultative process was carried out to abolish night packages inline with the directions of the Human Rights Cell of Supreme Courtof Pakistan and the Standing Committees of Senate and NationalAssembly. Following the consultative process, PTA issued a directiveon 14th November 2012 to abolish night packages immediately.The same was challenged by CMTOs in the Islamabad High Court.However, later on, the petition was withdrawn upon the insistence ofPTA.

iv. CMTOs took up the matter again before the Honourable SupremeCourt of Pakistan. The Supreme Court of Pakistan conducted finalhearing on 10th October 2013 and remanded the matter back to theIslamabad High Court for detailed hearing.

25

v. PTA is in the process of making Retail Tariff Regulations forTelecommunication Services in order to regulate the retail tariffs ofPTA’s licensees including CMTOs.

44. *Saman Sultana Jaffri :


(a) whether there is any proposal under consideration of theGovernment to form a monitoring body to check the syllabus;

(b) if so, the legal status of the said body?

Minister for Education and Training and Standard in HigherEducation : (a) Ministry of Education, Trainings & Standards in Higher Education(MET&SHE) is working in consultation with provinces on the proposal ofconstituting National Curriculum Commission whose membership will be drawnboth at the Provincial and Federal level and the Chair will be headed by Federaland Provincial Governments on rotation basis. In order to seek the opinion ofprovinces in this regards letters were written to Provincial Chief Ministers. Howevertheir reply is still awaited.

(b) Once the agreement/consent of Provincial Chief Ministers is obtained,the legal formalities will be completed with due consultation of Law and JusticeDivision.

45. *Kishwer Zehra :


(a) whether it is a fact that Railway engines imported during theprevious Government were defective;

(b) if so, the total number of those engines alongwith the totalamount spent thereupon;

(c) the names and designations of persons responsibles for importof such defective engines; and

26

(d) whether any disciplinary action has taken against responsiblestherefor; if not, the reasons thereof?

Minister for Railways (Khawaja Saad Rafique): (a) 69 Nos.locomotives were supplied by the Dognfang Electric Corporation China againstthe contract agreement No. PR/2001/69/DEL dated 08-11-2001. 44 Nos DPU-30 (3000 HP) and 25 Nos. DPU-20 (2000 HP) were inducted in the PR systemfrom the year 2003 to 2008. These locomotives were experienced by inherenttechnical defects during the service due to which their availability was declined.The overall performance of these locomotives remained un-satisfactory.

(b) No of Engines Amount/Cost69D.E Locomotives US$ 98,250,527.99

(c) Presently the case is under NAB investigation. Responsibility shallbe fixed and the disciplinary action will be taken on finalization of the NAB enquiry.

(d) As above

46. *Dr. Nafisa Shah :


(a) the percentage of women employees working in the FederalGovernment departments at present; and

(b) the steps being taken by the Government to promote women’semployment quota in services?

Minister In-Charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : (a)

——————————————————————————————Description Total Women Percentage Percentage

(2011-12) Share increase/decrease(over previous year)

—————————————————————————————————————Federal Government 19,994 4.43% * - 5.39%EmployeesEmployees in 16,236 4.32% 7.42Corporations/ Bodies

—————————————————————————————————————*declined due to Devolution

27

(b) In 1989, 5% women quota was initially prescribed and it issubsequently enhanced to 10% across the board in 2007 in Federal GovernmentServices in addition to their employment against other provincial/regional quotas.

47. *Sufyan Yousuf :


(a) whether it is a fact that telephone calls for long distances arebeing made by illegal means in the country;

(b) if so, the steps being taken to control the same?

Minister In-Charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : (a) Legal definitionof Grey Traffic is “Termination/Origination of international calls by bypassing legalarrangements to avoid applicable Taxes and/or Regulatory Fees is termed as GreyTraffic”.

The phenomenon of Grey Traffic commonly exists in the third worldcountries including Pakistan.

(b) In compliance of statutory obligations PTA has been playing a vitalrole in curbing the -menace of Grey Telephony. A Technical System has beendeployed for monitoring and reconciliation of International Telephone Traffic withthe funding of Long Distance International (LDI) operators in pursuance ofInternational Clearing House (ICH) Policy Directive issued on 12th August, 2012.

The System known as Grey Traffic Monitoring System (GTMS) becameoperational recently on 1st October, 2013. The system is automatically blockingIP addresses which are carrying illegal calls.

To create customer awareness against grey traffic and take appropriateaction, PTA has established a Call Center for filing of complaints lodged by generalpublic on receiving Grey Calls.

48. *Shazia Mari :


28

(a) the role of the Ministry after the enactment of 18th ConstitutionalAmendment; and

(b) whether it is a fact that the Ministry is undertaking theformulation of curriculum for educational institutions in thecountry; if so, the justification thereof?

Minister for Education and Training and Standard in HigherEducation : (a) After deletion of Concurrent Legislative List, the activities on thesubject of education, entered therein were devolved to the provinces. HoweverArticle 25-A of the Constitution, entries at Sr. No 3,15,16 and 17 of the FederalLegislative List part I and entries at Sr. No 7 and 12 of Federal Legislative Listpart II involved a Federal role(details at Annex-I. Now the Federal Ministry ofEducation, Trainings and Standards in Higher Education is performing the followingactivities:

1. To devise policies, plans and programmes for ensuring mass educationand integrated professional, vocational and technical training in syncwith national needs and international requirements.

2. To supervise /oversee the implementation of National EducationPolicy -2009.

3. To make proposals for legislation, rules and code of conduct forofficial business concerning education, professional training and skilldevelopment.

4. To formulate proposals/ recommendations for increased publicexpenditure on education, professional development and vocational& technical training.

5. To nominate/recommend eminent persons for national awards in thefields of education, professional and technical training.

6. To coordinate with other ministries/ organizations for optimalutilization of professionals and trained manpower.

7. To liaise with International donors and organizations in the field ofeducation and trainings.

8. To develop, coordinate and regulate curricula, schedules, institutesand examination/certification bodies for the relevant trainings.

9. To coordinate efforts to achieve education related MDGs and EFAtargets.

29

10. To make arrangements for effective utilization of youth bulge byimparting vocational and technical training.

11. To administer and regulate the affairs of the attached departments,sub-ordinate offices and autonomous organizations.

(b) No, currently the Ministry is not undertaking any function for theformulation of curriculum for educational institutions in the country. However theMinistry has proposed the constitution of an autonomous commission to coordinate/formulate curriculum. If the provincial governments consented then the proposedcommission will undertake this responsibility.

Annex-I

FOURTH SCHEDULE[Article 70(4)]

LEGISLATIVE LISTS

Federal Legislative List

PART-I

3. External affairs; the implementing of treaties and agreements, includingeducational and cultural pacts and agreements, with other countries; extradition,including the surrender of criminals and accused persons to Governments outsidePakistan.

15. Libraries, museums, and similar institutions controlled or financed bythe Federation.

16. Federal agencies and institutes for the following purposes, that is tosay, for research, for professional or technical training, or for the promotion ofspecial studies.

17. Education as respects Pakistani students in foreign countries andforeign students in Pakistan.

Federal Legislative List

PART-II

7. National planning and national economic coordination includingplanning and coordination of scientific and technological research.

12. Standards in institutions for higher education and research, scientificand technical institutions.

30

49. *Sahibzada Tariq Ullah :


(a) the total number of poor persons/families registered underBenazir Income Support programme in the country at present;

(b) the prescribed criteria for maintaining the said Programme; and

(c) up to what extent this programme proved to be helpful foralleviating poverty alongwith the facts and figures thereof?

Minister In-Charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : (a) As of 1stNovember, 2013, there are 5,023,927 registered persons/families under BenazirIncome Support Programme.

(b) A countrywide poverty scorecard survey, based on a proxy meanstest (PMT), was carried out to identify the poor families. The Poverty Scorecardhelps generate a poverty score for surveyed households and only household belowthe cut off score of 16.17 are eligible for cash grants by BISP. The cash benefit isonly provided to adult married women within eligible households possessing avalid CNIC. Beneficiary families are entitled to the benefits of other BISPProgrammes like Waseela-e-Rozgar, Waseela-e-Taleem, Waseela-e-Huq,Waseela-e-Sehat etc.).

(c) A study conducted by PIDE has found positive impact of cashtransfers on per capita food and health expenditure. BISP-covered householdsare likely to spend more on food and health as compared to those who are notreceiving benefits.

50. *Sahibzada Muhammad Yaqub :


(a) whether it is a fact that the Swat Air Port is non functionalsince long; if so, the reasons thereof; and

(b) whether there is any proposal under consideration of theGovernment to make the said Airport functional; if so, when itwill be implemented

31

Minister In-Charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : (a & b) Swat Airportis presently operational since 10th October, 2012. However, no flights are operatingdue to less passenger load.

51. *Siraj Muhammad Khan :


(a) whether it is a fact that the private TV channels of the countryhave been authorized to telecast foreign transmissions on theirchannels; if so, the details alongwith justification thereof;

(b) whether it is also a fact that Supreme Court has banned thetelecast of Indian TV channels in Pakistan;

(c) whether it is further a fact that private TV channels aretelecasting Indian contents on their channels; if so, the stepsbeing taken to implement the orders of Supreme Court in letterand spirit; and

(d) the mechanism to ensure censorship in this regard?

Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage (Mr.Pervaiz Rashid) : (a) Yes. On the directions of the Federal Government, theAuthority in its 36th meeting held on 25-02-2006 allowed 10% foreign content onthe Pakistani Satellite TV channels with the following breakup and subject to thecondition that licensees shall comply with the Code of Conduct prescribed by theAuthority.

• 60% of the 10% (6% of the overall) may be Indian or other content;

• 40% of the 10% (4% of the overall) may be English content.

The rationale behind the decision was:

i. to facilitate the local media industry at its nascent stage as they werestruggling hard to establish their businesses; and

ii. as enough Pakistani content were not available, therefore to fill thisspace / gap, foreign content was allowed on the local Satellite TVchannels.

32

(b) No orders have been issued by the Apex court regarding ban ontelecasting of Indian content.

(c) Yes, it is a fact that satellite TV channels are telecasting Indian content.However, PEMRA has established a state of the art monitoring setup which isoperational round the clock. Through this setup, PEMRA ensures that the channelsare airing the content as per the prescribed limits and as per the code of conductdevised by PEMRA. During the year 2013, it has been observed that 10 channelsaired excessive Indian content from the prescribed limit. PEMRA initiated actionagainst the violators as per the PEMRA laws. A Fine of Rs. 10 Million imposed onthese Satellite TV Channels. (Annex-I).

(d) PEMRA laws/rules/regulations do not contain any provision regardingpre-censorship of content. However, PEMRA has built an In-house MonitoringSystem to ensure compliance with the Code of Conduct & Code of Advertising.Action is taken under PEMRA laws for any violation of the codes.

Annex-I

Actions taken against Satellite TV ChannelsAiring of Excessive Foreign Content

——————————————————————————————Show Cause

Sr. Channel Notice Dated Remarks / CurrentNo. Name Category issued (Reason) Status

———————————————————————————————————————————1. Geo Excessive Fine to the Tune of

Entertainment Entertainment Foreign / Indian 9-1-2013 Rupees One MillionContent Imposed/Warning

Issued

2. Express Excessive Fine to the Tune ofEntertainment Entertainment Foreign / Indian 9-1-2013 Rupees One Million

Content Imposed/WarningIssued

3. HUM TV Entertainment Excessive Fine to the Tune ofForeign / Indian 9-1-2013 Rupees One MillionContent Imposed/Warning

Issued4. Oxygen TV Entertainment Excessive Fine to the Tune of

Foreign / Indian 9-1-2013 Rupees One MillionContent Imposed/Warning

Issued

5. Play TV Entertainment Excessive Fine to the Tune ofForeign / Indian 17-1-2013 Rupees One MillionContent Imposed/Warning

Issued———————————————————————————————————————————

33

6. Koninoor Entertainment Excessive Fine to the Tune ofForeign / Indian 17-1-2013 Rupees One MillionContent Imposed/Warning

Issued

7. TV One Entertainment Excessive Fine to the Tune ofForeign / Indian 17-1-2013 Rupees One MillionContent Imposed/Warning

Issued

8. Apna TV Entertainment Excessive Fine to the Tune ofForeign / Indian 17-1-2013 Rupees One MillionContent Imposed/Warning

Issued

9. 8XM Entertainment Excessive Fine to the Tune ofForeign / Vulger 10-1-2013 Rupees One MillionContent Imposed/Warning

Issued

10. Jalwa Entertainment Excessive Fine to the Tune ofForeign / Vulger 10-1-2013 Rupees One MillionContent Imposed/Warning

Issued———————————————————————————————————————————

52. *Maulana Muhammad Gohar Shah :


(a) the loss of life and property occurred generally in the countryand particularly in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the recentfloods 2013;

(b) the steps taken by the National Disaster Management Authority(NDMA) for the rehabilitation of the victims of said flood; and

(c) the details of the functions alongwith the jurisdiction of NDMAat present?

Reply not received.

53. *Naeema Kishwar Khan :


——————————————————————————————Show Cause

Sr. Channel Notice Dated Remarks / CurrentNo. Name Category issued (Reason) Status

———————————————————————————————————————————

34

(a) the number of Government-institutions wherein child Day carecenters are functioning to facilitate the working women atpresent;

(b) the steps being taken by the Government to establish a childDay care center in each major institution; and

(c) the steps being taken by the Government to set up a child carecenter in private sector institutions?

Minister In-Charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : (a) As per informationcollected from different Ministries / Divisions at present 08 Child Day Care Centresare functioning at different locations. Out of these, under the domain of EstablishmentDivision, two Child Day Care Centres are being run at the following locations:—

(1) Establishment Division (Main)(2) Staff Welfare Organization, G-6, Islamabad

(b) There is no centralized system under the Federal Government forestablishment of Child Day Care Centres. Ministries / Divisions / Organizationshave established Child Day Care Centres on need basis and these Centres areregulated by Ministries / Divisions themselves. Some organizations have informedthat they are in the process of establishing new Child Day Care Centres.

(c) Establishment of Child Day Care Centres in -private sector Institutionsare not under the domain of the Establishment Division.

54. *Mr. Mohsin Shah Nawaz Ranjha :

Will the Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat be pleased tostate the steps being taken by the Government for the completion ofdevelopment projects/schemes started under PWP-I and II duringthe last five years?

Minister In-Charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : Peoples’ WorksProgramme-I (PWP-I) and Peoples’ Works Programme-II (PWP-II) were twodifferent and distinct programmes. The PWP-I was administered by the CabinetDivision since December, 2010, while the PWP-II was managed directly by thethen Prime Minister's Secretariat.

35

2. As regards PWP-I, a Federal Development Committee (FDC) wasformed in the Cabinet Division to impress upon the executing agencies for promptcompletion of development schemes.

3. As far as PWP-II is concerned schemes were approved by the PrimeMinister's Secretariat and this Division was tasked to process the release of fundsto the executing agencies through the AGPR. The executing agencies undersupervision of the Controlling Ministries were responsible for execution andcompletion of the schemes.

55. *Mr. Musarat Rafique Mahesar :

Will the Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat be pleased tostate whether it is a fact that 26 percent shares of PIA are beingprivatized; if so, up to what extent the losses of PIA will be reduced?

Minister In-Charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : Yes. PrivatizationCommission has been tasked by the Government to devise the modalities andstrategy for Privatization of PIAC. The privatization mode has been decided afterdue diligence in order to off set the losses.

56. *Mrs. Shahida Rehmani :

Will the Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritagebe pleased to state whether it is a fact that the Pakistan Televisionsuffered loss of Rs.700 million during Pak vs South Africa Cricketseries; if so, the reasons to give a contract to a private channel thereof?

Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage (Mr.Pervaiz Rashid) : It is not a fact that the Pakistan Television suffered a loss of Rs.700 Million on account of Pakistan vs. South Africa Cricket series. The PTV hasalso not given any rights to any of the private channels. The state broadcaster hasrather saved a potential revenue loss upto the tune of US dollars 3.0 to 3.5 Millionby not participating in the bid offered by the PCB that was piece meal. It may also bementioned here that the PTV has already sub-licensed the Pakistan vs. South Africaseries 2013 rights from Ten Sports and is all set to earn a fairly large profit out of it.

57. *Mr. Mohammad Ayaz Soomro :

Will the Minister for National Food Security and Research be pleasedto state:(a) the location-wise research institutions established in the Sindh

36

Province by PARC alongwith the mandate thereof;

(b) whether it is a fact that the said research institutions do nothave state of the art facilities including Scientists, trainedmanpower and shortage of equipments in various labs, fundsand development projects; if so, the reasons thereof; and

(c) the steps being taken to improve the standard of such researchinstitutions?

Minister for National Food Security and Research (Mr. SikandarHayat Khan Bosan) : In Sindh province, PARC research establishments aremainly under Southern zone Agricultural Research Centre (SARC), KarachiUniversity Campus, Karachi. Mandate of SARC is as under:

• To undertake agricultural research of national importance in crop,animal, social sciences and natural resources.

• To develop, validate and disseminate appropriate technologies toend-users (farmers, industries and research institutes).

• To interact with national and international institutions for collaborativeresearch and other professional matters.

• To provide analytical, diagnostic, consultancy and advisory servicesto farmers / entrepreneurs and other agencies.

To achieve the goals, SARC has the following institutes/programs. Eachinstitute has its specific objectives. Details are as under:

1. Crop Diseases Research Institute, Karachi University Campus,Karachi

• Identification of broad based new source of tolerance to the prevalentand new virulences of rusts that are developing in nature to provideresistant tolerance, parent stocks for National Breeding Program.

• Evaluation of breeders' material for its disease reaction in adult stageunder different ecological zones and disease development conditionsfor early elimination of susceptible lines.

• Monitoring change in the rust reaction potential in the commercial

37

varieties for early warning and to provide information on whichcommercial varieties can be recommended for specific zones or couldbe withdrawn from general cultivation.

• Survey and isolation of seed-borne diseases of important field cropsand vegetables.

• Methods of determining extent of crop losses caused by seed bornepathogen.

• Development of varietals screening techniques against seed bornediseases.

• Developing methodologies for routine seed health testing.

• Survey, pathogenicity and control of plant parasitic nematodesassociated with cereals, fruits and vegetable crops.

2. Vertebrate Pest Control Institute, Karachi University Campus,Karachi

• To identify the major vertebrate pest problems in differentagroecosystems.

• To assess crop and food storage losses from vertebrate pests.

• To develop safe, effective and economical control methods throughtesting new products which are suitable and practical for farmers.

• To test rodenticides and avicides both under laboratory and fieldconditions so as to help the concerned agencies in regulating theiruse.

• To demonstrate vertebrate pest control techniques at farm levelthrough pilot control program.

• To investigate rodent borne diseases hazardous to human andlivestock health.

• To transfer knowledge to the farming community through the ProvincialAgricultural Services by holding master trainer seminars andproducing a wide range of advisory bulletins, leaflets and pamphlets.

3. Institute of Plant Introduction (IPI), Karachi University Campus,

38

Karachi

• Expansion of plant germplasm and introduction and propagation ofindigenous plants for their potential for cultivation in coastal region.

• Introduction of exotic varieties of crops, fruits, vegetables andornamental plants for evaluating their potential and suitability underlocal conditions.

• Development of agronomic packages for optimum cultivation ofindigenous and exotic varieties.

• Propagation and distribution of new crop introductions.

• To work out cost benefit ratio's on the basis of inputs and raw andvalue added utilities of the new introductions.

• To undertake training and technology transfer for the benefit of endusers.

4. Pest Management Research Institute (PMRI), Karachi UniversityCampus, Karachi

• Development of protocols for integrated Pest Management in crops,fruits and vegetables. Evaluation of insecticides for their comparativeefficacy against insect pests and fruits and vegetables.

• Monitoring of resistance to pesticides in insect pests.

• Toxicological investigations to determine effects of pesticides on cropproduction system and the environment.

• To undertake training of the stake holders on safe use of pesticidesby applying appropriate IPM models.

5. Food Quality and Safety Research Institute (FQSRI), KarachiUniversity Campus, Karachi

• To undertake research and testing on determination ofphysicobiological, chemical and contaminants in raw and processedfood commodities.

39

• To provide testing facilities to different stake holders for qualityassurance of food products.

• To undertake research on different value added products.

• To provide technical support to public and private sector on grainstorage management by undertaking research/development/operational activates.

• To disseminate the research finding for benefit of end users byconducting trainings, workshops, seminars and farmer fieldsdemonstration etc.

• Statistical Support and I.T. Unit (SSITU), Karachi UniversityCampus, Karachi

• To undertake research and development activities related to computerbased knowledge management and sharing.

• To provide support to all the research units of SARC on statisticalanalysis of data and undertake training programs for scientists onstatistical analysis.

• To develop tools utilities (databases, software, expert system etc)for analysis and computerization of agricultural research information.

• Facilitate application of information technology in communication ofagricultural information.

• Conduct training programs for stakeholders.

6. Out Research Activities Unit (ORAU), Malir Halt, Karachi

• To interact with public and private sector/agencies on research anddevelopment program of SARC.

• To support research activities of SARC for undertaking field research,training and other outreach activities in Sindh.

• To interact with farmers, public sector agencies and otherstakeholders in conducting farmers days, field trips and otherprograms of mutual interests.

40

Other establishments are as under:

7. National Sugar and Tropical Horticulture Research Institute(NSTHRI), Makli, Thatta

• To develop and propagate sugar crops with higher yield and sucrosecontent for different agro-ecological zones with resistance to drought,salinity, water logging, frost etc.

• To undertake research on tropical horticultural crops anddevelopment of optimum packages for their cultivation in coastalarea.

• To undertake research on cereal oil seed and other crops for theiroptimum production in coastal areas.

• To undertake research on soil and water for their best utility forirrigation and develop procedures for reclamation of soil using moderntechniques.

• To disseminate the knowledge by conducting training courses/workshops/farmers field days and utilizing other methods ofdissemination.

• To develop linkage between national and international institutes forExchange of scientific information, visit and training of scientificmanpower.

8. Arid Zone Research Institute, Umerkot

• Management of natural resources to uplift the livelihood of aridfarmers.

• Identification of problems of the arid areas especially of Sindh-Province and undertaking research for solution.

• Screening of germ plasm of cereals, pulses, oilseed, range grassesand arid horticulture crops best suited to the area.

• Development of improved production technologies and croppingsystems for dry land agriculture.

41

• Demonstration and dissemination of improved technologies to theend users/ farmers.

9. Social Sciences Research Institute, Tandojam

• To identify on- farm issues and farmers' research needs and translatethem into research priorities for appropriate recommendationsdomains;

• To determine the socioeconomic viability of alternative technologiesto identify farm level constraints in their adoption levels and to highlightareas for policy interventions;

• To guide policy design and implementation process in the perspectiveof overall constraints to capacity utilization of the production systemand national targets of output growth, income and employment.

• To guide investment in agricultural research by disciplines,commodities, programs, agro-ecological zones and target groups.

• To develop public private partnership for accelerating pace ofcommercialization of agricultural technologies

10. Feed Development Center (FDC) Naudero, Larkana

• To produce a balanced and economical animal feed for livestockowners living in the area to boost livestock productivity. The mill isfully functional and producing feed.

(b) No. However, there are instances of shortage of manpower,equipments and funds in some facilities. Some projects have also not been financedby Planning and Development Division during the last 2 years.

Reasons:—

i. Inadequate budgetary allocationsii. Ban on recruitments.iii. Budgetary cut of 30 %.

(c) PARC has recently Re-organized/Re-Structured Institutes duringAugust 2013 keeping in view the latest requirements and research priorities of

42

Sindh Province. The resources and mandate of these institutes have beenreorganized to achieve the targeted results.

• Research Projects from ALP and RADP are in progress and newproposals are also in pipe-line.

58. *Mr. Najaf Abbas Sial :

Will the Minister for National Food Security and Research be pleasedto state:

(a) the total estimated cultivation area of wheat for upcomingseason;

(b) whether the Government has decided rates for procurement ofwheat; if so, the details thereof alongwith the criteria to beadopted for the procurement of wheat from the farmers; and

(c) whether the Government has any proposal to procure the Paddy;if so, the rates thereof?

Minister for National Food Security and Research (Mr. SikandarHayat Khan Bosan) : (a) For the wheat crop 2013-14, the wheat area sownestimates would be available by 1st week of February, 2014 from the provincialgovernments.

(b) No.

(c) No.

59. *Mr. Sajid Nawaz :


(a) whether it is a fact that the basic responsibility of designing astandard curriculum for Federally Administered Tribal Areas,Gilgit-Baltistan and AJ & K rests with the Federal Government;and

43

(b) whether it is also a fact that the schools in the said areas areusing text books of the other provinces; if so, the steps beingtaken in this regard?

Minister for Education, Trainings and Standards in HigherEducation : (a) The subject does not fall under the purview of Ministry ofEducation, Trainings and Standards in Higher Education. However (MET&SHE)is working in consultation with provinces on the proposal of constituting NationalCurriculum Commission whose membership will be drawn both at the Provincialand Federal level and the Chair will be headed by Federal and ProvincialGovernments on rotation basis. In order to seek the opinion of provinces in thisregard letters were written to Provincial Chief Ministers, however their reply is stillawaited.

(b) The subject does not fall under the purview of Ministry of Education,Trainings and Standards in Higher Education. However (MET&SHE) is workingin consultation with provinces on the proposal of constituting National CurriculumCommission whose membership will be drawn both at the Provincial and Federallevel and the Chair will be headed by Federal and Provincial Governments onrotation basis. In order to seek the opinion of provinces in this regard letters werewritten to Provincial Chief Ministers, however their reply is still awaited.

@60. *Syed Asif Hasnain :


(a) whether there is any proposal under consideration of theGovernment to establish new Universities in the country; if so,when it will be implemented; and

(b) whether there is also any proposal under consideration of theGovernment to increase the grant of renowned Universities; ifso, when it will be implemented?

Minister for Education, Trainings and Standards in HigherEducation : (a) Presently, one new university is being established to cater theneed of students from FATA. HEC has already issued NOC and a project costingRs. 650 million is included in PSDP 2013-14.

@Transferred from Cabinet Divisions

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(b) Currently, there is no proposal under consideration at HEC to increasethe grant of renowned Universities. Recurring grants. to the universities are primarilyallocated on the basis of student enrollment. However, renowned universities furtherqualify to get additional grant showing improved performance in terms of AcademicPerformance 15% and Need Grant 20%. However, all renowned universitie's arerequired to compete further for additional grants.

ISLAMABAD: KARAMAT HUSSAIN NIAZI,The 5th November, 2013. Secretary.

PCPPI—3457(13) NA—5-11-2013—700.

1

6th Session

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SECRETARIAT

————

“UNSTARRED QUESTIONS AND THEIR REPLIES”

For Wednesday, the 6th November, 2013

(Originally Unstarred Question Nos. 110, 112, 114, 131, 227, 235, 239,242, 111, 114, 117, 118, 120, 122, 123, 125, 129, 131 and 133 were set

down for answer during the 5th Session)

110. Naeema Kishwar Khan:

Will the Minister Incharge of the Cabinet Secretariat be pleased tostate:

(a) the head-wise funds provided for the flood affected people ofDistrict Charsadda, KPK during the year 2012-13;

(b) the funds provided to Zakat Committees of the said District forthe affectees alongwith the utilization of funds thereof;

(c) whether it is a fact that said funds were distributed on the basisof favouritism; and

(d) the detail of those persons who have been provided those funds?

Minister In-charge of Cabinet Secretariat : (a), (b), (c), (d) It isstated that above mentioned question is a provincial subject and does not fallunder the purview of Climate Change Division as the Provinces are dealing withthe provincial subjects after 18th Constitutional Amendment. Government of KhyberPakhtunkhwa may be approached in this regard.

112. Chudhary Hamid Hameed:


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(a) whether it is a fact that the water tanks placed on Quarternumber 4, 5 and 6, Category-A, Street No.46, Sector G-7/2,Islamabad are without cover/lids since long; if so, the reasonsthereof; and

(b) the time by which lids will be placed on those water tanks?

Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat :(a) Yes, the watertanks placed on Quarter number 4, 5 and 6, Category-A, Street No.46, SectorG-7/2, Islamabad were without cover/lids, however, the cover/lids of Cost Ironhave been fixed on the said Quarters as per satisfaction of allottees.

(b) As above.

114. Najaf Abbas Sial:

Will the Minister Incharge of the Cabinet Secretariat be pleased tostate the number of consultants hired by the PIA from 1-1-2008 to30-3-2013 alongwith there salary packags?

Reply not received.

131. Shahzadi Umerzadi Tiwana:

Will the Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat be pleased tostate whether re-instatement of sacked employees has been made interms of Sacked Employees Reinstatement Act 2010; if so, theestimated expenditure incurred thereupon?

Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat :

8

227. Sahibzada Muhammad Yaqub:


(a) the year-wise total amount earmarked and released for therenovation and replacing of furniture and other items forParliament Lodges, Islamabad during the last five financial yearsalongwith the details of work completed under the said headsduring that period;

(b) the names of contractors who carried out such works alongwithcriteria adopted for awarding contract;

(c) whether a statutory audit was conducted therefor; if so, sincewhen alongwith the findings thereof; and

(d) whether it is a fact that despite spending of huge amount offunds for the renovation of Parliament Lodges, Islamabad, alarge number of Suites are in dilapidated condition at present; ifso, the reasons thereof?

Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat :(a) The year-wise listfor the renovation & replacing of Furniture and other items is placed at Annex- “A”.

(b) The contracts of different works at Parliament Lodges are awardedafter advertisement in National Press, competitive bidding among eligible biddersin conformity with PPRA Rules, and after fulfillment of codal formalities. The list ofcontractors is given at Annex-“B”.

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(c) Yes, a statutory Audit is carried out after close of every FinancialYear by the Federal Audit Agency.

(d) Parliament Lodges building was commissioned almost 17 years ago.Since then no major renovation has been carried out. Routine repair/renovation isdone in bits & pieces on required/demand basis subject to allocation/availabilityof requiste fund through Maintenance Grant.

There are 358 Nos. Family Suities in Parliament Lodges. These are beingmaintained through different contracts. New ACs, cooking ranges, gas water heaters,furniture, carpets, floor tiles, bathroom accessories & curtains are provided ondemand made by honurable Parliamentarians after allocation of requisite funds.


235. Sheikh Rashid Ahmed:


(a) the value of medicine provided to each member of parliamentunder the head of local purchase from the parliament dispensaryduring the period from March 2008 to March 2013 alongwiththe procedure adopted therefor;

(b) whether formal audit is conducted of such local purchase; if so,the brief findings of the audit conducted during the last fiveyears; and

(c) the justification of provision of aforesaid medicine to themembers of Parliament?

Reply not received.

239. Muhammad Riaz Malik:


(a) the location-wise total number of Agro Farm Houses of CDA inIslamabad at present; and

(b) the names and addresses of allottees thereof?

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Minister In-charge of Cabinet Secretariat :(a) The location wisenumber of allotted agro farms are as under:—

——————————————————————————————S.No. Name of Scheme Total

——————————————————————————————1. P&V Scheme No.II, Park Road.

Chak Shahzad 1242. P&V Scheme No.III, Kahuta Road. 683. P&V Scheme No.IV, Murree Road. 374. Orchard Scheme Murree Road. 1135. P&V Scheme No.1, Tarlai Kalan. 666. P&V Scheme No.1, Tarlai Kalan

Extension. 107. P&V Scheme No.II, Sehana

Extension. 718. Orchard Scheme H-9. 15

—————————————————————————————— Total 504

——————————————————————————————(b) The names and addresses of the allottees of the farms houses are

detailed at Annexure-“A”.

(Annexure has been placed in the National Assembly Library)

242. Nafeesa Inayatullah Khan Khattak:


(a) whether it is a fact that only one Golf Club was planned in theMaster Plan of Islamabad; and

(b) whether it is also a fact that there are more than one Golf Clubin Islamabad at present; if so, the justification thereof?

Reply not received.

111. Mohammad Salman Khan Baloch:Will the Minister Incharge of the Cabinet Secretariat be pleased tostate whether it is a fact that the old furniture in parliament lodgeshas not been changed so far; if so, the time by which the same will bechanged?

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Minister In-charge of Cabinet Secretariat :(a) There are 07 residentialblocks in Parliament Lodges comprising 358 family suites. The work forreplacement of old furniture has been carried out in 270. family suites so far. Theremaining family suites will be taken up subject to availability of funds, which islikely to be completed during current financial year 2013-2014.

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114. Ramesh Lal:


(a) whether it is a fact that the PIA fares from Karachi to Islamabadis about Rs. 15000/- for two hours continuous flight;

(b) whether it is also a fact that for one hour flight from Sukkur toKarachi the PIA fare is Rs. 12000/;

(c) if the answers to parts (a) and (b) above is in the affirmative,the reasons thereof; and

(d) whether there is any proposal under consideration of theGovernment to reduce PIA fares from Sukkur to Karachi; if so,when it will be implemented?

Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat :(a) The fare fromKarachi to Islamabad is between PKR 10450/- (lowest) 16720/- (highest).

(b) The fare from Karachi – Sukkur is between PKR 7060/- (lowest)10860/- (highest).

(c) The overall demand profile of Sukkur-Karachi and vice versa marketis much lower than the demand of Islamabad-Karachi market. Due to the samereasons, the private airlines i.e. Airblue, Shaheen Air suspended their operationsfrom Karachi to Sukkur.

(d) There is no proposal under consideration of the Corporation to reducePIA fares from Sukkur-Karachi at present.

117. Abdul Waseem:


(a) the number of consultants hired by PIA during the period from2008 to 2013; and

(b) the salary package admissible to the said consultants at present?

Reply not received.

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118. Saman Sultana Jaffri:

Will the Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritagebe pleased to state the year-wise total number of FM Radio licensesissued during the last five years?

Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heriatge(Mr. Pervaiz Rashid) :Year-wise total number of FM Radio licenses issuedduring the last five years are as under:—

2008 112009 202010 042011 142012 23

120. Seema Mohiuddin Jameeli:


(a) whether degrees/educational certificates of the Doctors and staffworking in the Federal Government Poly Clinic, Islamabad havebeen verified;

(b) if so, the number of Doctors and staff possessing fake degrees/certificates?

Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat :(a) Most of the Degrees/educational certificates of Doctors and staff working in the Federal GovernmentPolyclinic Hospital, Islamabad have been verified which may be seen atAnnexure-A. Remaining process of verification of Doctors/ paramedical staffwas not completed due to non availability of funds. Now the government hasallocated funds and verification process has been started, as soon as the verificationreceived from the concerned quarters, it will be furnished.

(b) At present no fake degree/ certificate holder is working in FederalGovernment Polyclinic Hospital, Islamabad.


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122. Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho:


(a) the sector-wise total number of Government Houses and Flatsin Islamabad at present; and

(b) the year-wise amount spent by CDA on their maintenance andrepair during the last three years?

Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : (a) The Sector-wisedetail of Government Houses and Flats placed at Annex-“A” & “B”.

(b) The year-wise amount spent by CDA for repair/maintenance, thedetail is as under:—

Financial Year 2010-11 Rs. 84.260(M)Financial Year 2011-12 Rs. 89.948(M)Financial Year 2012-13 Rs. 66.483(M)

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123. Tahira Asif:

Will the Minister Incharge of the Cabinet Secretariat be pleased torefer to Starred Question No. 118, replied on 22nd August, 2013 andto state:

(a) whether it is fact that the project of establishing a hospital inIslamabad has been delayed; if so, the steps being taken toexecute the said project at an earliest;

(b) whether any funds have been earmarked for the said hospital inPSDP or any other head; if so, the details thereof; and

(c) time by which the said hospital will be established?

Reply not received.

125. Belum Hasnain :

Will the Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritagebe pleased to state the steps being taken to control corruption invarious departments working under the administrative control of theMinistry?

Minister For Information,Broadcasting And National Heritage(Mr. Perviaz Rashid):

Main Ministry

The following actions have been taken by this Ministry to controlcorruption:—

• Observance of merit to select staff of highest level of competence.

• Discouragement of nepotism and favoritism in transfer/posting of staff.

• Ensuring judicious use of public resources.• Adoption of measures and systems to promote fiscal transparency.

• Adoption of approved government policy for procurement (PPRARules, 2004) so as to ensure fair competition and avoid corruptactivities.

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External Publicity Wing (EP)

All possible measures are being taken to ensure transparency in allprocurements and financial matters of External Publicity Wing.

Press Information Department (PID)

Press Information Department is pursuing the policy of transparency indealing with official business in all respect. Rules and regulations of PakistanProcurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) are strictly followed in terms ofpurchasing of office equipments and stationery. Merit policy of Posting/Transfersand promotion are being made as per set criteria by the designated DepartmentalPromotion Committee (DPC). Government advertisements are released to mediaas per government policy and appointments of Ad agencies are made as per policyguidelines. Public sector advertisements released through PID will be placed onPID website. The software has been developed for this purpose. This transparentway of procedure in all respects ensures merit in this department. It is also informedthat there is no inquiry pending against any employee on account of corruption.However, a Court case is pending with the NAB since 2010 against the officials/officers concerning fake advertisement bills.

Directorate of Electronic Media & Publications (DEMP)

Various steps are being taken for check and balance in the DEMP inorder to avoid corruption. For example, PPRA Rules are being observed even insmall purchases and repairs etc under proper committee supervision, steps arealso being taken to weed out; corrupt and inefficient staff. The Ministry is directlyoverseeing all such steps and the department is reporting periodically to the Ministry.

Information Service Academy

Due to strict supervision, observance of the Government Rules and Codalformalities, a saving of Rs. 3,688,297/- could become possible during the lastfinancial year 2012-13, which is a manifestation of steps taken for controllingcorruption.

Associated Press of Pakistan (APPC)

APP has beefed up its internal audit control to minimize the chances ofcorrupt practices. Its Accounts are being audited regularly. APP has also terminated/dismissed around one and a half dozen of its employees on different charges ofcorruption including fake submission of degrees/certificates etc by them. APP

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management is all set to take strict action, as and when any incident of corruptpractice is come to notice. It may also be informed that there is no inquiry ispending against any employee of APPC on account of corruption.

Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC)

PBC, since its inception, has been considering certain measures for theelimination of corrupt practices among its employees. PBC has its own regulationstitled "PBC Employees, Conduct Regulations 1979" and "PBC Employees E&DRegulations 1979". The employees indulged in nepotism, favoritism, victimizationand willful abuse of office are liable to disciplinary actions which include dismissalfrom service. A Vigilance Committee has been constituted comprising senior officersof PBC, to watch the conduct of their subordinates and to ensue that corruptiondoes not flourish here. All PBC Heads of Units/Stations all over the country havebeen made responsible to watch the conduct of their subordinates and to initiatedisciplinary action against the corrupt elements working under them.

As per instructions of the Federal Government, the details of moveableand immoveable assets etc are obtained on the prescribed proforma on yearlybasis. At present, no formal inquiry under PBC Employees, E&D Regulations,1979 is pending against the charge of corruption against any employee of PBC.

Pakistan Television Corporation (PTVC)

Though PTV Management strives hard to uproot the menace of corruptionfrom the corporation, by and large it is successful in its endeavor, yet isolatedincidents of corruption at the individual level do occur some times which are fullyprobed & investigated and responsibility fixed. There is a multi-layered system inplace to check corruption and corrupt practices through audit. The Three types ofaudits are:—

(i) Internal Audit(ii) External Audi:(iii) Govt/Commercial Audit

Two (02) such cases have been reported in :the recent past in respect ofthe following officials of PTV and the persons involved are facing inquires/investigations which are under process:- Responsibility will be fixed once inquiryis completed and action initiated accordingly.

i. Mr. Sagheer-ud- Din,Associate Engineer, PTV News, Islamabad.

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ii. Mr. Muhammad Altaf Baig,Finance Manager (functioning)TV Centre, Multan.

Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA)

PEMRA is a large organization having presence in all the four provinces inaddition to the centre. Though system and procedures are in place to check corruptpractices, yet it would not be fair to make a sweeping statement that it is absolutelyfree from corruption of all sorts. Sometimes lower and middle ranking officialshave been found to give in to temptations of various kinds including monetaryones. Two such officials, namely Mr. Javed Akhtar (field Inspector andMr. Muhammad Shahid Field Inspector), who have been found to be indulging incorruption, have been removed from service. As charges proved against themduring the disciplinary proceedings.

Shalimar Recording & Broadcasting Company Limited (SRBC)

As per reply received from the SRBC, the SRBC is an unlisted public-limited company, but not a public-sector enterprise as it is not a company establishedby the Federation and falls purely within the ambit of the laws regulating corporateactivities i.e., Companies Ordinance, 1984 (Applicable-Law)and Memorandum& Aitcles of Association of the Company concerned (Regulations). Ever since itsinception, effective checks and balances are in place to prevent any kind of corruptpractices therein and no instance of corruption has come into notice.

National Heritage Wing

Since inception of National Heritage & Integration Wings, no charge ofcorruption has been leveled against any employee. Rules and preventive measuresfor controlling corruption are strictly followed. If any case of corruption is pointedout, the same will be dealt with as per prevailing Government Rules and Regulations.Presently, no disciplinary case or inquiry on the charge of corruption is pendingagainst any officer/employee of National Heritage Wing.

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Lok Virsa:

It has been observed that- wherever award of contracts, bids etc. areinvolved, there is a tendency to resort to favoritism. This is especially true in caseof organizations like Lok Virsa where contracts are awarded routinely. SpecialAudit of Lok Virsa for 2005-10 has recently been carried out. Special Audit teamin its report for the years 2005 to 2012 had pointed out certain financial irregularitiescommitted by outgong Executive Director Lok Virsa, Mr. Khalid Javed.Similarly, Mr. Ainuddin Hejrani, a journalist had pointed out certain instances ofcorrupt practices on the part of Mr. Khalid Javed, ED. Accorcingly, a fact findinginquiry is being conducted against ex-ED Lok Vrsa, Mr. Khalid Javed on variouscharges including charges of financial irregularities and corrupt practices.

Department of Archaeology & Museums:

All the financial transactions in Department of Archaeology & Museumsare made according to Govt. rules and regulations. There is a proper mechanismin place to check every transaction being made out of normal budget. The rulesgoverning purchase are strictly being followed. Apart from internal check, externalcheck through audit by office of the Auditor General is also in place. Presently, nodisciplinary case or inquiry on the charge of corruption is pending against anyofficer/employee of Department or Archaeology & Museums.

Federal Land Commission:

All the financial transactions in Federal Land Commission are madeaccording to Govt. rules and regulations. There is no scope of corruption in theFederal Land Commission (FLC). Presently no disciplinary case or inquiry on thecharge of corruption is pending against any officer/employee of Federal LandCommission.

Quaid-i-Azam Papers Wing:

Since inception of Quaid-i-Azam Papers Wing, no charge of corruptionhas been leveled against any employee. Rules and preventive measures for corruptionare followed strictly. If any case of corruption is pointed out, the case will be dealtwith as per the Government rules and regulations. Presently no disciplinary caseor inquiry on the charge of corruption is pending against any officer/employee ofQuid-i-Azam Papers Wing.

Pakistan National Council of The Arts:

PNCA follows all Federal Government rules circulated from time to timeregarding procurement of goods & services and other administrative matters to

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being in transparency and financial control. PPRA Rules, 2004 are followed in alltypes of purchases Pre-Audit system is put in place, followed by internal audit bythe Ministry and Post Audit is being conducted by AGPR. Presently no disciplinarycase or inquiry on the charge of corruption is pending against any officer/employeeof PNCA.

National Language Promotion Department:

There is no case of corruption under process/consideration in NationalLanguage Promotion Department, Islamabad. If any case of corruption is pointedout, the department will take action accordingly.

Pakistan Academy of Letters:

Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) is a national premier organization,working for promotion of Pakistani literature and welfare of writers- community inthe country. No case of any kind of corruption has been reported in PAL. Presentlyno disciplinary case or inquiry on the charge of corruption is pending against anyofficer/employee of PAL.

Aiwan-e-Iqbal Complex:

A Vigilance Committee has been formulated consisting of senior officersof the Aiwan-e-Iqbal Complex including the Administrator. All other instructionsare strictly followed as issued by the Government from time to time. Presently nodisciplinary case or inquiry on the charge of corruption is pending against anyofficer/employee of Aiwan-e-Iqbal Complex.

Iqbal Academy of Pakistan:

By and large, the organization works in a transparent manner. However,at times some cases of malpractices have come to notice of the authoritiesconcerned. On receipt of various complaints of corruption and mal-practices inIqbal Academy Pakistan (IAP), an Inquiry Committee was constituted inNovember, 2012 by the defunct M/o National Heritage & Integration, on thedirections of Standing Committee of National Assembly to probe the reportedfinancial irregularities in the Academy and to look into all legal aspects and Rules/Regulations of academy. The Inquiry Committee found Mr. Suheyl Umar, DirectorIAP responsible for the reported procedural lapses, violation of Rules andirregularities in the administrative and financial matters of the Academy. Pursuant

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to the recommendations of the Inquiry Committee, the Ministry took the followingactions:—

i. A reference has been sent to NAB on 10 January, 2013.

ii. Ministry of Interior was requested in March 2013 to put the name ofMr. Suheyl Umar, Director Iqbal Academy on ECL.

iii. An amount of Rs. 50,000/- has been recovered from Mr. SuheylUmar Director, IAP and deposited in IAP accounts. Whereas theremaining amount Rs. 400,000/- is yet to be deposited.

iv. The Ministry requested the Accountant General of Pakistan inJanuary, 2013 to carry out a special audit of the Academy. In responsethey conveyed that the Ministry's request will be looked into duringRegular Audit, 2013. But the Ministry again requested the AccountantGeneral of Pakistan on 20th May, 2013 to conduct Special Audit ofthe Academy and Aiwan-e-Iqbal for the years 2005-10.

Urdu Science Board:

No case of corruption has been reported in Urdu Science Board. UrduScience Board strictly follows the System of Financial Control and Budgeting2006 and other instructions issued by the Government from time to time. Presentlyno disciplinary case or inquiry on the charge of corruption is pending against anyofficer/employee of USB.Quaid-I-Azam Management Board:

QMMB ensures strict observance/ implementation of Rules/ Regulationsincluding PPRA Rules. Regular Audit is conducted by the Auditor General ofPakistan. Audit up-to year 2012-13 is in process. Presently no disciplinary caseor inquiry on the charge of corruption is pending against any officer/employee ofQuaid-I-Azam Management Board.

Quaid-I-Azam Academy:

Quaid-i-Azam Academy is run by the annual Budget grant of the FinanceDivision. Up-to-date record is maintained by the Academy in all administrative,financial and research matters.

Audit of the accounts of the Quaid-i-Azam Academy is conducted eachyear by the Office of the Auditor General of Pakistan (Karachi Office). Presentlyno disciplinary case or inquiry on the charge of corruption is pending against anyofficer/employee of Quaid-I-Azam Academy.

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Urdu Dictionary Board (UDB):

UDB ensures strict observance of PPRA Rules. Regular Audit is conductedby the Auditor General of Pakistan. Audit up-to year 2012-13 is scheduled to beheld on 30th September 2013. Presently no disciplinary case or inquiry on thecharge of corruption is pending against any officer/employee of Urdu DictionaryBoard.

129. Mr. Mohammad Ayaz Soomro:


(a) whether it is a fact that amount of stipend and the reimbursementof actual semester/annual fee is not being paid from FederalEmployees Benevolent and Group Insurance Fund (FEBGIF)to the children of Government servants studying in M.Phil andPhD; if so, the reasons thereof; and

(b) the time by which the stipend and reimbursement of semester/annual fee will be paid to those students?

Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : (a) It is a fact thatneither any stipend nor the re-imbursement of actual semester / annual fee is beingpaid by Federal Employees Benevolent and Group Insurance Fund (FEB & GIF)to the Children of Government Servants who are studying in M. Phil and Ph.D,not being covered under the existing Rules on the subject. In this regard relevantrule position is reproduced as follows:

Rule 25 of FEB & GI Rules, 1972

“25. (1) Education stipends shall be paid to out-Standing Children of theeligible employees out of the Group Insurance funds subject to theconditions hereinafter prescribed.

(2) The student for the purpose of the said stipends Shall be regularstudent of the institution who has obtained at least eighty per centmarks in the immediately last held board or university examination.In case sufficient students in particular category do not qualify, theBoard may change the percentage of marks:

Provided that maximum two children of an eligible employee shall beentitled to the said stipends in a financial year.

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(3) The stipends shall be paid for post-matric studies, at college oruniversity level excluding Ph.D and M. Phil Studies. The Board inthis context may prescribe categories. The amount of stipend shalalso be fixed by the Board from time to time according to theavailability of budget”.

(b) In view of the fact the a dispensation is not a statutory requirementand hence not obligatory, no proposal is under consideration by the FederalEmployees Benevolent and Group Insurance Fund for provision of stipends /reimbursement of semester/annual fee to the students of M. Phil and Ph.D studies.

131. Mian Javid Latif:

Will the Minister Incharge of the Cabinet Secretariat be pleased torefer to Starred Question No.23 replied on 14-12-2012 and to state:

(a) whether it is a fact that CDA has not developed sector I-15,Islamabad so far; if so, the reasons thereof; and

(b) the time by which said Sector will be developed?

Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : (a) The Dual Carriageway of Major Road of sector I-15 alongwith its Bridge is already completed. Thedevelopment of remaining sector could not be completed due to reasons:—

(i) The contract for development of Infrastructure of Sector I-15 wasawarded to M/s Al-Khan in 2006 on Design-Cum-Constructionbasis. The contractor defaulted and contract was rescind.

(ii) Later a new bid for construction of 8000 flats and Infrastructure ofI-15 was invited from International Contracting Firms. The Chinesefirm M/s CMEC quoted a price of Rs.54/- Billion against estimatedcost of Rs.14/- Billion. This Bid was rejected being the cost on higherside.

(iii) Subsequently, International bidding was again invited. In pre-bidmeeting the Chinese Firm M/s CMEC demand Sovereign Guaranteeof Government of Pakistan for the Project Investment which wasnot agreed by CDA and process could not proceed further.

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(iv) During visit of President of Pakistan to China during June-2012 aMemorandum of understanding was signed between CDA andconsortium of M/s CMEC and M/s CRFG. The PPRA, PlanningWing and Finance Wing Government of Pakistan objected the MoUand same could not be materialized. The MoU has also expired inDec, 2012.

(v) Now the CDA Board on 17-06-2013 decided reversion of verticaldevelopment of housing into horizontal development by PlanningPlots 25' x 50' and Directed Palnning Wing of Authority for revisionin Planning of Sector I-15 which is in process.

(b) Upon finalization of revised Planning of Sector the development workis planned to be completed within 03 years subject to improvementof financial position of Authority.

133. Rai Hasan Nawaz Khan:

Will the Minister Incharge of the Cabinet Secretariat be pleased torefer to Un-Starred Question No.72 replied on 23-1-2013 and to state:

(a) whether funds have been provided for maintenance and whitewash of Low Category Quarters from “A” to “C” type in SectorG-7/2, Islamabad; if not; the reasons thereof; and

(b) the time by which the maintenance and white wash of thosequarters will be carried out alongwith the total amount of fundsto be allocated therefor?

Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : (a) Funds are allocatedby the Government for maintenance of Government houses. However, due to lessallocation of funds, maintenance & white wash of “A” to “C” type quarters inG-7/2 could not be under taken.

(b) The proposal for maintenance & white wash of “A” to “C” typequarters in Sector G-7/2, Islamabad, is under consideration and the works will becarried out in current financial year 2013-2014, subject to availability of funds.

32. Dr. Raja Aamer Zaman :

Will the Minister in-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat be pleased tostate:

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(a) whether it is a fact that the parks of Gulshan-e-Jinnah, SectorF-5/1, Islamabad are in a dilapidated condition since long; if so,the reasons thereof; and

(b) whether there is any proposal under consideration of theGovernment to maintain the said parks in the near future; if so,when it will be implemented; if not, the reasons thereof?

Transferred to Housing and Works Division for answer on Next Rota Day.

33. Nafeesa Inayatullah Khan Khattak :


(a) whether it is a fact that the education budget for CADD hasbeen increased;if so, the total amount including increase thereof;and

(b) the project-wise utilization thereof?

Reply not received.

34. Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho :

Will the Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat be pleased tostate the names of departments functioning without chairs/executivesand governing bodies at present?

Minister In-charge of Cabinet Secretariat :(a)All Ministries / Divisionswere requested to furnish the names of the departments functioning without chairs/ executives and governing bodies. In response thereto, thirty-one (31) Ministries/ Divisions have intimated that presently following sixty-seven (67) departmentswhich come under their administrative control are without chairs / executives andgoverning bodies:—

(i) Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), under Aviation Division.

(ii) Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal (PBM), under Cabinet Division.

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(iii) National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), underCabinet Division.

(iv) Intellectual Property Organization Pakistan (IPO-Pakistan), underCabinet Division.

(v) National Archives of Pakistan (NAP), under Cabinet Division.

(vi) Private Educational Institution Regulatory Authority (PEIRA), underCapital Administration and Development Division.

(vii) Directorate of Workers Education (DWE), under CapitalAdministration and Development Division.

(viii) National Institute of Science and Technical Education (NISTE), underCapital Administration and Development Division.

(ix) Department of Tourists Services (DTS), under Capital Administrationand Development Division.

(x) Zoological Survey of Pakistan (ZSP), under Climate ChangeDivision.

(xi) Plastic Technology Centre (PTC), under Ministry of Commerce andTextile Industry.

(xii) Synthetic Fibre Application and Development Centre (SAFDAC),under Ministry of Commerce and Textile Industry.

(xiii) Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC), under Ministry ofCommerce and Textile Industry. Ministry of Commerce and TextileIndustry.

(xiv) Pakistan Cotton Standard Institute (PCSI). under Ministry ofcommerce and Textile Industry.

(xv) NTRC, under Ministry of Communication.

(xvi) Higher Education Commission (HEC), under Ministry of Education,Trainings and Standards in Higher Education.

(xvii) National Commission for Human Development (NCHD), underMinistry of Education, Trainings and Standards in Higher Education.

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(xviii) National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC),under Ministry of Education, Trainings and Standards in HigherEducation.

(xix) Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), underFinance Division.

(xx) Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP), under Finance Division.

(xxi) National Investment Trust Limited (NITL), under Finance Division.

(xxii) Pakistan Public Works Department (PWD), under Ministry ofHousing and Works.

(xxiii) National Housing Authority (NHA), under Ministry of Housing andWorks.

(xxiv) Estate Office Management, under Ministry of Housing and Works.

(xxv) PHA Foundation (PHAF), under Ministry of Housing and Works.

(xxvi) Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation (FGEHF),under Ministry of Housing and Works

(xxvii) Institute of Regional Studies (IRS), under Ministry of Information,Broadcasting and National Heritage.

(xxviii) Pakistan Television Corporation (PTVC), under Ministry ofInformation, Broadcasting and National Heritage.

(xxix) National Institute of Folk & Traditional Heritage (Lok Virsa), underMinistry of Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage.

(xxx) Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA), under Ministry ofInformation, Broadcasting and National Heritage.

(xxxi) National Language Promotion Department (NLPD), under Ministryof Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage.

(xxxii) Urdu Dictionary Board (UDB), under Ministry of Information,Broadcasting and National Heritage.

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(xxxiii) Quaid-e-Azam Academy, under Ministry of Information,Broadcasting and National Heritage.

(xxxiv) Telecom Foundation (TF), under Ministry of Information Technologyand Telecommunication.

(xxxv) Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), under Ministry ofInformation Technology and Telecommunication.

(xxxvi) Universal Service Fund Company, under Ministry of InformationTechnology and Telecommunication.

(xxxvii) ICT R&D Fund Company, under Ministry of Information Technologyand Telecommunication.

(xxxviii) Telephone Industries of Pakistan, under Ministry of InformationTechnology and Telecommunication.

(xxxix) Virtual University of Pakistan, under Ministry of InformationTechnology and Telecommunication.

(xl) Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), under Inter-Provincial CoordinationDivision.

(xli) Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC), under Inter-Provincial Coordination Division.

(xlii) Special Court (Offences in Bank), Islamabad, under Law, Justiceand Human Rights Division.

(xliii) Drug Court, Islamabad, under Law, Justice and Human RightsDivision.

(xliv) Drug Court, Lahore, under Law, Justice and Human Rights Division.

(xlv) Drug Court, Quetta, under Law, Justice and Human Rights Division.

(xlvi) Banking Court-II, Faisalabad, under Law, Justice and Human RightsDivision.

(xlvii) Banking Court-I, Peshawar, under Law, Justice and Human RightsDivision.

(xlviii) Commercial Court, Lahore, under Law, Justice and Human RightsDivision.

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(xlix) Commercial Court, Karachi, under Law, Justice and Human RightsDivision.

(1) Foreign Exchange Regulation Appellate Board, Lahore, under Law,Justice and Human Rights Division.

(li) Foreign Exchange Regulation Appellate Board Karachi, under Law,Justice and Human Rights Division.

(lii) Anti Dumping Appellate Tribunal, Islamabad, under Law, Justiceand Human Rights Division.

(liii) Environmental Protection Tribunal, Islamabad, under Law, Justiceand Human Rights Division.

(liv) Insurance Appellate Tribunal, Karachi, under Law, Justice and HumanRights Division.

(1v) Federal Seed Certification & Registration Department (FSC&RD),under Ministry of National Food Security and Research.

(lvi) Agricultural Policy Institute (API), under Ministry of National FoodSecurity and Research.

(lvii) Drugs Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), under Ministry ofNational Health Services, Regulations and Coordination.

(Iviii) National Institute of Health (NIH), under Ministry of National HealthServices, Regulations and Coordination.

(lix) Election Commission of Pakistan, under Ministry of ParliamentaryAffairs.

(lx) Karachi Port Trust (KPT), Karachi, under Ministry of Ports andShipping.

(lxi) Gwadar Port Authority (GPA), Gwadar, under Ministry of Portsand Shipping.

(lxii) Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), under Ministry of ReligiousAffairs and Interfaith Harmony.

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(lxiii) Council for Works and Housing Research (CWHR), under Ministryof Science and Technology.

(lxiv) Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF), under Ministry of Science andTechnology.

(lxv) Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), underMinistry of Science and Technology.

(lxvi) National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), under Ministry of Scienceand Technology.

(lxvii) Pakistan Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (PCSIR), underMinistry of Science and Technology.

35. Muhammad Muzammil Qureshi :


(a) whether it is a fact that a number of Lecturers, AssistantProfessors and Associate Professors have been working in thesame Federal Government Model Colleges for more than threeyears; if so, the names thereof; and

(b) whether there is any proposal under consideration to transferthem; if so, when it will be implemented?

Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : (a) Yes a number ofLecturers, Assistan Professors and Associate Professors an working in the samecollege for more that three years. The list is placed at Annex-A.

(b) There is no proposal to transfer all of them at this stage in the midof academic year, however the Transfer/Posting Policy is under preparation, andshall be finalize, shortly in consultation with stake holden This Policy shall beapplicable w.e.f. next academic year i.e. April 2014.

It is added that the Posting/Transfer of sat cadres may be made any timeon the basis of requirement of Model Colleges i.e on occurrence of vacancy in aspecific subject etc.


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36. Belum Hasnain :


(a) the details of officers holding dual and current charges of higherposts in the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA)alongwith the names of posts, period of current and dual chargesand justifications thereof;

(b) whether it is a fact that there is a shortage of officers in thePTA; if so, the steps being taken to meet the said deficiency;and

(c) whether it is also a fact that many junior officers have beengranted higher current charge posts ignoring the senior officers;if so, the reasons thereof?

Minister In-charge of Cabinet Secretariat : (a) There is no provisionfor grant of current or acting charge of higher posts in PTA. Only Additional chargeof equivalent or higher post is given under Regulation 50 of PTA Employees ServiceRegulations, 2008. The detail of PTA's officers who have been given additionalcharge is given in Annex-A.

(b) It is a fact that there is shortage of officers in PTA owing to thefollowing reasons:—

In the recent past some officers resigned from PTA service owing totheir personal reason(s).

Some officers, who were on deputation basis and were attachedwith the previous Chairman PTA, were repatriated to their parentorganization.

DPC has not been convened after the year 2011.

The Authority has now been appointed by the Govt. on 26th September,2013, therefore, necessary steps will be taken to overcome the shortfall and tomeet the essential requirements.

(c) The services of two officers were taken on deputation basis for postingagainst higher posts, under Section 10 with the approval of the previous ChairmanPTA. The detail is given in Annex-B.

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37. Ramesh Lal :

Will the Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat be pleased tostate whether it is a fact that the employees of CDA have been allottedmore than one plot during the last five years; if so, the justificationalongwith the criteria adopted therefor?

Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : No.

38. Shagufta Jumani :


(a) the name of persons appointed as In-charge of the PrimeMinister’s Complaint Cell;

(b) the total number of employees/officers working in the said Cellat present; and

(c) the procedure prescribed for the functioning of said complaintcell alongwith the time fixed to address/resolve a complaint?

Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : (a) Minister of Statefor Parliamentary Affairs is looking after the work of Public Affairs/ GrievanceWing, being the Minister Incharge of Ministry of Parliamentary Affair.

(b) The total sanctioned strength of officers/officials in Public Affairs/Grievance Wing is 71 (15 officers + 56 officials). One Additional Secretary, twoJoint Secretaries, three Deputy Secretaries and six Section Officers have beenprovided by the Establishment Division who are working in the Public Affairs/Grievances Wing of Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. However, fifty-six (56)officials have not been provided so far by the Establishment Division due to whichPublic Affairs/Grievances Wing has not become fully functional.

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(c) The Public Affairs and Grievances Wing processes petitions addressedto the Prime Minister by the Parliamentarian/General Public which are received /through;

• Post Offices• Prime Minister/Minister of State & Secretary Parliamentary Affairs•:. Personal appearance

The complaints are scrutinized, followed by dispatch of actionable petitionsto the concerned quarters for appropriate actions at their end under the signatureof concerned Deputy Secretary (BS-19) and a time limit of 15 to 30 days givendepending upon the nature of complaint.

Replies received from concerned quarters are analyzed, and if foundsuitable, forwarded to the petitioner for information, otherwise referred back toconcerned quartrsf with appropriate instructions to resolve the matter.

If no reply is received within the prescribed time form concerned quarters,a reminder under the signature of Joint Secretary (BS-20) is given and if still thereis no response, then the level of reminder is reaised to Additional Secretary.Thereafter, the matter is brought to the notice of Minister of State / In charge ofthis Wing.39. Zaib Jaffar :

Will the Minister 1n-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat be pleased tostate:(a) the total population of the adjacent villages of Islamabad Capital

Territory having access to potable water at present; and

(b) the steps being taken by the Government to ensure provision ofpotable water to the said population?

Reply not received.

40. Sajid Ahmed :

Will the Minister In-charge, of the Cabinet Secretariat be pleased tostate the total number of air crafts needed for PIA in proportion toits Business and flights?

Reply not received.

41. Sheikh Salahuddin :

Will the Minister for Education, Trainings and Standards in HigherEducation be pleased to state whether there is any proposal under

37

consideration of the Government to attach Federal Directorate ofEducation with the Ministry; if so, when it will be implemented; ifnot, the reasons thereof?Minister for Education & Trainings and Standard in Higher

Education : Presently. Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) is under the CapitalAdministration & Development Division (CA&DD). However, there is a proposalfor re-structuring/consolidation of Education related matters pending at Planning& Development Division. Any decision on the subject will settle the issue of FederalDirectorate of Education (FDE).

42. Dr. Imran Khattak :


(a) the names, designations and total service of employees of theCDA to whom plots were allotted in Islamabad during the lastfive years alongwith the locations thereof; and

(b) the criteria adopted for allotment of those plots?

Reply not received.

43. Parveen Masood Bhatti :


(a) whether it is a fact that more than eight thousands patients dailyvisit Federal Government Services Hospital (FGSH), Islamabad;

(b) whether it is also a fact that the said hospital cannot cater toneeds of patients; and

(c) whether it is further a fact that the land of Argentina Parkadjacent to hospital has been acquired for expansion thereof; ifso, why its work has not been started so far?

Minister In-charge of Cabinet Secretariat : (a) Approximately.

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(b) Hospital is providing available services but with 30% cut in budget,if implemented it will be difficult to cater the needs of patients.

(c) Yes, the honorable Prime Minister of Islamic Republic of Pakistanhad allotted 2.54 acres of additional land piece for the said extension vide letterNo. 2686/PSPM/2010, dated 11-08-2010, subject to payment of cost of land toCDA through PC-I:

(i) A PC-I of project titled “Extension of FGPC acquisition of Land”was approved on 16th April, 2011 by the DDWP at the cost ofRs.55.321 million for payment to CDA. The required funds havenot been allocated for the project, so far. The cost of land was payableupto 7th June, 2011, which has lapsed.

(ii) Capital Administration and Development Division requested toPlanning & Development to allocate Rs.55.321 million for the projectunder reference, out of overall savings with Planning Division, enablingFederal Government Polyclinic, Islamabad to start work. The caseis under process in the Planning Division for release of Rs.55.321million on account of payment of land to CDA. It is also mentionedthat CA&DD is also moving a summary to honorable Prime Ministerfor exemption of payment of cost of land already allocated.

44. Khalida Mansoor :Will the Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat be pleased tostate:(a) whether there is any proposal under consideration of the

Government to impose ban on night packages of mobilecompanies or to limit them to certain extent in near future; and

(b) if so, when it will be implemented?

Minister In-charge of Cabinet Secretariat : (a) On receiving complaintsfrom various quarters including Human Rights Cell of Supreme Court of Pakistan,Standing Committee of the Parliament, Consumers, Senators, and MNAs, PTAdirected all the Mobile Phone Companies on 14th November 2012 to stop night/chat packages. Being grieved the CMOs have approached Supreme Court ofPakistan. The matter is presently subjudice in Supreme Court.

1. Due to liberalization and intense competition in the cellular mobiletelephony market, the operators introduced various packages to itsconsumers to provide them with better quality of service at affordable

39

prices. However, certain market practices/packages were noticedwith concern to be against the norms of social structure and moralvalues of the society in the form of night chat packages which wereintroduced by the CMOs.

2. The Authority received various complaints from Human Rights Cellof Honorable Supreme Court of Pakistan, Standing Committee ofthe Parliament, various Senators and MNAs. In addition, consumersalso expressed concern over the packages such as (i) Warid VoiceChat by Warid Telecom, (ii) Chat Line by Zong, (iii) Gup ShupCorner by Mobilink, (vi) Talk Shalk Friends by Telenor Pakistanand Ufone Dosti by Ufone including late night packages.

3. The matter was taken up with the CMOs, and ample opportunitywas provided to respond to PTA concerns. A letter was written toCMOs on 11th September 2012 (copy enclosed). In this regard,the Authority called a meeting on 1st October, 2012 duly attendedby all the Regulatory Heads of the CMOs. During the meeting, livecalls were made to the chat services offered by the operators. Afterlistening to the contents of live calls and concerns of PTA in themeeting, representatives of the operators agreed to the fact that thecontents are against the practiced moral values of the society.

4. Keeping in view the foregoing, all CMOs were directed via PTAletter dated 14th November 2012 to immediately stop all nightpackages, which are contrary to the social norms and moral valuesof the country with immediate effect (copy enclosed).

(b) Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOs) challenged the order of PTA byjointly submitting a writ petition in Islamabad High Court on 21st November, 2012which was withdrawn by CMOs on 29th November, 2012 after PTA submittedthe details on the subject issue in the court. FAOs filed by the CMOs were alsodismissed by the Honorable Islamabad High Court.

2. In the absence of a stay on the CPLA filed by the CMOs, PTA hasonce again directed the CMOs on 29th August 2013 to stop all night/chat packages(copy enclosed). Mobilink has submitted compliance while compliance on thesame from other four CMOs is awaited.

3. CMOs took up the matter in litigation again and filed a CPLA in theHonorable Supreme Court of Pakistan. Final hearing on the matter has been

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conducted in the Honorable Supreme Court of Pakistan on 10th October, 2013and the matter has been remanded back to Islamabad High Court for detailedhearing.


45. Saman Sultana Jaffri :

Will the Minister for Information, Braodcasting and National Heritagebe pleased to state:

(a) the total number of TV and Radio licences issued from June,2013 till date; and

(b) the total amount of licence fee received/collected therefrom?

Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage (Mr.Perviaz Rashid) : (a) It is stated that no license has been issued for satellite orradio during the period from June, 2013 to till date.

(b) NIL.

46. Kishwer Zehra :


(a) whether it is a fact that 2% quota reserved for disabled personsis being observed/implemented for employments in the Ministries/Divisions; if not, the reasons thereof; and

(b) whether there is any proposal under consideration of theGovernment to increase the said quota; if so, when it will beimplemented; if not the reasons therefor?

Reply not received.

47. Tahira Aurangzeb :


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(a) whether it is a fact that the wastage of Poly Clinic, Islamabad isbeing used after its recycling;

(b) if so, the steps taken to control it?

Minister In-charge of Cabinet Secretariat : (a) No, the medical /hospital waste of Federal Government Polyclinic, Islamabad is incinerated.Therefore cannot be recycled.

(b) Not applicable.

48. Sufyan Yousuf :

Will the Minister for Education, Trainings and Standards in HigherEducation be pleased to state the University-wise total amount offunds allocated by HEC in Sindh Province for research in academicsand arts during the year 2012-13 alongwith the fields thereofseparately?

Reply not received.

49. Iqbal Muhammad Ali Khan :


(a) the details of work completed by CDA on Rain Water HarvestingProject during the last four years; and

(b) the details of expenditure/budget allocated for the said work?

Minister In-charge of Cabinet Secretariat : (a) The detail of workscompleted on rain water harvesting project is as under:—

(i) Construction of rain water harvesting system at old NHQ building,Block-VI, G-6, Islamabad.

(ii) Construction of rain water harvesting system at AGPR Building,Sector G-8/4, Islamabad.

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(b) The detail of expenditures of above cited works is as under:—

S.# (i) Rs: 690,988/-S.# (ii) Rs: 346,965/-

Total Rs: 10,37,953/- (Rs: 1.037 M)

50. Rai Hasan Nawaz Khan :


(a) whether it is a fact that the hiring of house facility is not beinggiven to teachers working in Model Colleges and Schools of theGovernment in Islamabad; if so, the reasons thereof; and

(b) whether there is any proposal under consideration of theGovernment to give hiring facility to all said teachers; if so,when it will be implemented?

Minister In-charge of Cabinet Secretariat : (a)Hiring of house facilityis being given to the teachers of all educational institutions working under FDE.However, due to budget constraints fresh applicants are kept on waiting list andthey are allowed hiring on their turn upon the availability of budget. All the teacherswho applied for hiring of house till June 2011 have been given hiring facility.

(b) All the remaining teachers shall be given hiring of house facility assoon as the required budget is available.

51. Rana Muhammad Afzal Khan :


(a) the total amount collected by KESC on account of TV licencefee through electricity bills during the year 2012-13; and

(b) whether said amount has not been paid to the PTV; if so, thedetails alongwith the reasons thereof?

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Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage(Mr. Perviaz Rashid) : (a) The total amount collected by KESC on account ofTV Licence Fee through electricity bills during the year 2012-13 is as under:—

(Rs. in million)Gross amount collectedby KESC 623.574

Service Charges deductedby KESC 81.189

Net amount payable byKESC 542.385

(b) The said amount of Rs. 542.385 Million has not been fully paid byKECS as per detail given below:—

(Rs. in million)Amount payable byKESC 542.385

Amount paid by KESC. 65.566during the year

Net amount payable byKESC 476.819

We have been pursuing KESC Authorities since long to deposit TV Feecollected through electricity bills according to Clause-9 (i) of agreement executedbetween PTV and KESC.

52. Lal Chand :


(a) the total amount of funds allocated to Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal forvarious projects during current fiscal year; and

(b) the total number of beneficiaries thereof including members ofreligious minorities during the said period?

Minister In-charge of Cabinet Secretariat : (a) The FederalGovernment has allocated Rs. 2,000 million to Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal throughbudgetary allocation for the fiscal year 2013-14.

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(b) The total numbers of beneficiaries, for the period July-October, 2013are 4507. The community-wise break up is as under:—

——————————————————————————————Sr. No. Community No. of Beneficiaries

——————————————————————————————i. Muslim 4458ii. Christian 44iii. Hindu 5

——————————————————————————————Total 4507

——————————————————————————————53. Imran Zafar Leghari :

Will the Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat be pleased tostate the names, grades and domiciles of the Federal Secretariesworking in the Federal Government Ministries/Divisions/Departmentsat present?

Minister In-charge of Cabinet Secretariat : A list containing the names,grades and domiciles of the Federal Secretaries working in the Federal GovernmentMinistries / Divisions / Departments is Annexed.

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54. Abdul Sattar Bachani :Will the Minister for Railways be pleased to state details of the assetsowned by the Pakistan Railways at present?

Minister for Railways (Khawaja Saad Rafique) : The detail of majorassets owned by Pakistan Railways as under:—

(1) CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

Total track length = 11, 755 KmTotal number of bridges = 13,841Total number of level crossings = 3,815Total number of railway stations = 558 Total area covering service buildings = 593acres such as railway stations, schools,hospitals, running rooms, resthouses, maintenance shops, locosheds, carriage depots etc.Total number of residential buildings = 70,100including 67,939 staff quarters.Total Land = 167,690 acres

(2) MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

——————————————————————————————S# Description, of Rolling Quantity

Stock and Plant & (Nos)Machinery

——————————————————————————————1. D.E Locomotives 4652. Coaches 1,7903. Power vans: 664. Freight Wagons 16,6355. Plant & Machinery 3,488

installed in Pakistan Railways, Workshops

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6. Electric Traction 16Locomotives (likely to be condemned)

7. Steam Locomotives:(i) Displayed 27(ii) Stored in good order 16

——————————————————————————————

(3) SIGNALLING DEPARTMENT

(a) Station Signalling

(i) Mechanical signalling =545 stations(ii) Electrical signalling (Relay Interlocking) = 40 stations

(b) Block Signalling——————————————————————————————

S# System No. of stations——————————————————————————————

i. Token Instruments 134ii Tokenless Instruments 140iii Block Instrumenst 70iv Automatic Block 13v Centralized Traffic 8

Control (CTC)——————————————————————————————(4) ELECTRICAL DEPARTMENT

i Sub-stations inducing transformers HT/LT 117 Nos.switches, Cables

ii Pumping plants from 5.H.P to 50 H.P 398 Nos.

iii Water coolers installed at Railway 26 Nos.stations/Workshops

iv Main power house Moghalpura 01 Nos.

v Small abandoned power house at 04 Nos.Khanewal, Sukkur & Quetta

vi. Over Head lines in colonies in Railway 200 Km.system

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vii. Switch room 156 Nos.

viii ET Mast 4200 Nos

ix DG Sets 1 MW Capacity 03 Nos.

x. DC converter 750 KW capacity 03 Nos.

(5) PRODUCTION UNITS

(i) Carriage Factory IslamabadTotal Area 58 acresCovered Area 13 acres

(ii) Pakistan Locomotive Factory RisalpurTotal Area 100 acresCovered Area 11 acres

(iii) Concrete Sleeper Factories (CSF)

(a) Concrete Sleeper Factory SukkurTotal Area 59.31 acresCovered Area 5.63acres

(b) Concrete Sleeper Factory KhanewalTotal Area 52.41 acresCovered Area 3.56 acres

(c) Concrete Sleeper Factory KohatTotal Area 19.90 acresCovered Area 4.10 acres

(d) Concrete Sleeper Factory KotriTotal Area 21.76 acresCovered Area 2.88 acres

(e) Concrete Sleeper Factory Shaheenabad (closed in 1996)Total Area 52.41 acres

Covered Area 2.85acres

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(6) DRY PORTS

——————————————————————————————S# Name

——————————————————————————————i. Lahore Dry Portii Karachi Dry Portiii Quetta Dry Portiv Peshawar Dry Portv Multan Dry Portvi Rawalpindi Dry Port

——————————————————————————————

——————————————————————————————S# Name of Integrated container Terminals

——————————————————————————————i. Prem Nagarii Kot Radha Kisheniii Jia Baggaiv Lahore Dry Port

——————————————————————————————(7) TELECOMMUNICATION

i. Telephone Exchange Lines 3200 Nosii. No of lines in use 3000 Nosiii. Microwave Radio sites 38 Nosiv UHF Radio sites 230 Nosv VHF Radio base stations 576 Nosvi Locomotives equipped with VHF Radio 460 Nosvii Train controller systems MW/UHF 13 Nosviii H.F Radio for transmission 46 Nos

55. Sahibzada Muhammad Yaqub :


(a) the number of TV Stations working in District Lower Dir atpresent alongwith the duration of their transmissions; and

(b) whether there is any proposal under consideration of theGovernment to establish more TV stations in the said District;If so, when it will be implemented alongwith the details thereof?

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Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage(Mr. Perviaz Rashid) : (a) At present PTV has established two RebroadcastStations (RBSs) namely Larm Top & Timergrah in District Lower Dir, which arein operation since 2006. The transmission being aired from RBS-Larm Top isfrom 6:00 p.m. to 10: 00 p.m. & RBS-Timergrah from 6.00 a.m. to 12:00 midnight.

(b) Presently, no such proposal is under consideration in PTV, as theabove mentioned RBSs are already covering most of the population of that area.However, if the PTV receives a Prime Minister's Directive for installing TV Boosterfor any of the deprived areas in future, PTV will comply with the PM’s directions.

56. Iftikhar Ud Din :

Will the Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat be pleased tostate the total amount of funds allocated by the National DisasterManagement Authority for the affectees of floods-2013 of Chitralfor rehabilitation of infrastructure of the area?

Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat :

a. A flash flood devastated Chitral in August 2013. This caused 7 deaths,7 injured with 336 persons affected. 142 houses have been partiallydamaged with 77 houses fully damaged. Details attached atAnnex A.

b. Relief in the form of 3000 tents, 2 boats by NDMA and 200 tents,200 blankets by PDMA were provided. Details are attached asAnnex B. Relief provided by Civil Society Organizations / NGOs isattached at Annex C.

c. PDMA Punjab has also provided 2500 Tents, 15000 Blankets,12500 Ration Packs and 12500 Flour Bags.

d. NDMA has asked PDMA Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to carry out detaileddamage assessment of affected areas. On the basis of this assessment.PDMA would propose development scheme for which funding woudbe provided NDMA on case to case basis.

e. At present Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government has providedRs 18.873 million PKR to chitral district for management of affectedpopulation.

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57. S.A. Iqbal Qadri :

Will the Minister in-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat be pleased tostate the number of students to whom financial assistance wasprovided during the last five years by the Pakistan Bait-ui-Mall forhigher technical and medical education from abroad alongwith thedetails thereof?

Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : As per policy/thePakistan Bait-ul-Mal does not provide financial assistance for higher technical andmedical education abroad.

58. Qaisar Jamal :

Will the Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritagebe pleased to state the annual budget of the Pakistan National Councilfor Arts at present alongwith the head-wise utilization thereof?

Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage(Mr. Perviaz Rashid) : Federal Government provides funds to Pakistan Councilof the Arts in the shape of one-line Grant in Aid. In FY 2013-14 an amount ofRs. 142.500 Million has been allocated in the budget. So far an amount ofRs. 24.528 Million has been released by the Finance Division.

Details of head-wise internal distribution of the Budget and expenditure isas under:

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Rs. in Million——————————————————————————————Head of Accounts Budget Total Grant Utilization

Allocation (one line) till Oct,13Releasedtill Oct,13

——————————————————————————————Employees Related 85.500 19.266Expenses

Other Operating Expenses(Utilities, communication,occupancy costs, travel &transportation, Contractual 37.555 2.830works, Printing andPublications, etc)

Employees retirement 4.275 24.528 0.715Benefits

Repair and Maintenances 1.425 —

Purchase of Physical — —Assets

Programming Activities• Visual Arts 3.000 0.095• Performing Arts 10.745 1.245

—————————————————————————————— Total 142.500 24.528 24.151

——————————————————————————————*Due to ban on purchase payable assets'no amount is kept under the head.

59. Dr. Ramesh Kumar Vankwani :


(a) the number of vehicles in the pool of CDA at present; and

(b) the year-wise number of vehicles purchased by the CDA duringthe last four years?

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Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat : (a)List of total numberof vehicles is enclosed at Annexure-“A”.

(b) No vehicle has been purchased by CDA, during last four years.

60. Mrs. Shahida Rehmani :


(a) the qualification prescribed for Deputy Managing Director(DMD) of PIA recently appointed;

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(b) whether it is a fact that the pay of the D.M.D is Rs.500,000/-besides other perks and privileges; if so, the criteria prescribedtherefor?

Reply not received.

61. Mohammad Ayaz Soomro :


(a) whether there is any proposal under consideration of theGovernment to ply fast track train from Larkana to Karachi;

(b) if so, when it will be implemented alongwith the details thereof?

Minister for Railways (Khawaja Saad Rafique) : (a) There is noproposal under consideration of the Government to ply a fast track train fromLarkana to Karachi.

(b) As there is no such plan, so the question of time frame does notarise.

KARAMAT HUSSAIN NIAZI, Secretary.

ISLAMABAD:The 5th November, 2013.

PCPPI—3457 (2013) NA—5-11-2013—700.

1 (6th Session) NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SECRETARIAT

Documents

Transcript of 1 (6th Session) NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SECRETARIAT