ISLAMABAD: Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) Treasury Bench Members and Federal Ministers belonging to FATA walked out of the National Assembly protesting against the release of funds promised in the budget for the region. Out?
Independent MLA Mohsin Dawar took up the issue, along with all MLAs from the disaffected FATA, including Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Abdul Shakoor, who belongs to Jamiat Ulema Islam Fazl (JUIF). And Overseas Pakistanis Minister Sajid was also involved. Tori from Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
Dawar said that we meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal and they only make promises. He said that so far only 5 billion rupees have been allocated in the budget.
In response to this, Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Dr. Ayesha Ghos Pasha said that during the current financial year 2022-23, 50,120 million rupees have been released to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government so far to meet the current and development expenses of the erstwhile FATA. . . He added that Rs 115,200 million (Rs 60 billion for current and Rs 55.2 billion for development) had been allocated for the current and development expenditure of the erstwhile FATA during the financial year 2022-23. However, he said, no amount had been allocated for the Temporary Displaced Persons (TDPs) during the current financial year.
On another point of order, JUI-F lawmaker Maulana Jamaluddin Khan revealed in the National Assembly that three drone attacks took place in South Waziristan two weeks ago in which two children aged 4 and 5 years were martyred. He said that who is responsible for the martyrdom of the two children? He said that in another incident, a Brigadier of Pakistan Army was also martyred and the people involved should be brought to justice.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Murtaza Javed Abbasi presented the Journalists and Media Professionals Protection Amendment Bill 2023 and the Press, Newspapers, News Agencies and Books Registration Amendment Bill 2023 in the House.
The Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Amendment Bill, 2023 was passed by amending Section 13 of the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Act, 2021. The implementation of the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Act 2021 will be the responsibility of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting instead of the Ministry of Human Rights.
By amending Section 17 of the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Act, 2021, a new clause (b) was added stating that “an annual report on the state of media freedom and protection shall be laid before the Assembly. – The Shura (Parliament), by the Ministry to which the work of the Commission is assigned and shall submit to that Ministry, whenever deemed necessary, any other independent reports.”
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Interior Abdul Rahman Khan Kanju claimed in the National Assembly that the government’s actions have reduced street crime in the federal capital.
Responding to the attention notice regarding the increase in crimes against women in Islamabad, he said that the Eagle Squad was established in the capital to prevent street crime and after the implementation of the force in the areas. There has been a significant reduction in crime.
The federal minister said that providing security to the movement of women in parks and public places of the capital is the first priority of the government.
About the F-9 Park incident, he said around 100 CCTV [Closed Circuit Television] cameras had been installed and lights had been activated, with Eagle Squad personnel deployed for patrolling. He told the National Assembly that the number of security guards in the park has also been increased to 20.
The federal minister said that after the establishment of three new police stations in the federal capital, the total number has increased to 25 for the convenience of its residents.
He said that new police stations were established in Phulgaran, Karpa and Sangjani. “Islamabad’s population has grown rapidly, and the existing police stations are unable to meet the policing needs.”
He said that the newly established police station in Phulgaran will be responsible for some areas which were earlier under the jurisdiction of Bara Kahu police station.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Murtaza Abbasi told the House that the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has received the data of houses destroyed in the recent floods from three provinces while data from two federal units is still awaited.
He said that the minimum compensation has been fixed at Rs 500,000 for completely destroyed houses and Rs 250,000 for partially destroyed houses. Initially, the newly elected MNA Mohammad Mohsin Leghari took the oath of office.
The National Assembly was told that by June 2022, every Pakistani owed Rs 216,709. “The country’s public debt per capita stood at Rs 216,709 by the end of June 2022,” the finance ministry said during the question period in the National Assembly on Monday.
Minister of State for Finance Dr. Ayesha Ghos told the National Assembly that Pakistan has maintained its debt-to-GDP ratio at 73.5 at the end of June 2022, while the debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 76.5 in June 2020. The percentage was 71.5. In June 2021.
In response to a question from MNA Saira Bano, Ayesha Ghos said that the total public debt of the country was 52 thousand 721 billion rupees by December 2022, which includes domestic debt of 33 thousand 116 billion rupees and external debt of 19 thousand 605 billion rupees. . The House was informed in writing that most economies around the world rely on credit flows to meet the shortfall in available resources for funding government budgets. He said that sometimes resource-intensive infrastructure projects also require borrowed funds that were developed to achieve economic development and social development goals.
