48. laws and - parliament of pakistan · 2017 and the public interest disclosures act, 2017 are...

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(50th 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

Thursday, the 21st December, 2017

48. *Dr. Nafisa Shah:(Deferred during 48th Session)

Will the Minister for Law and Justice be pleased to state the laws andamendments that restrict on the freedom of expression as guaranteedin Article 19 of the Constitution of Pakistan at present?

Minister for Law and Justice: The Right of Access to Information Act,2017 and the Public Interest Disclosures Act, 2017 are such laws and the sameare administered by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is Ministry concerned for thispurpose.

98. *Ms. Naseema Hafeez Panezai: (Deferred on 13-12-2017)

Will the Minister for Energy be pleased to state:

(a) the volume of theft of electricity in term of billion rupees as onJune 1st, 2013 and at present; and

(b) the province-wise average theft of electricity for the last four years?

Minister for Power Division (Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari):(a) The volume of theft for the FY 2012-13 and FY 2016-17 is as under:—

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——————————————————————————————Financial Units Lost above Avg. Sale Rate Financial impact of

Year NEPRA Target (Rs./Kwh) theft (Billion Rs.)(M.Kwh)

——————————————————————————————2016-17 1593 12.41 19.772012-13 2291 10.85 24.86

——————————————————————————————DISCO wise detail of financial impact of theft for FY 2016-17 and FY

2012-13 is at Annex-A & B respectively.

(b) The volume of theft for FY 2013-14, 2014-15 & 2015-16 is atAnnex-C, D & E respectively.

(Annexures have been placed in the National Assembly Library)

@119. *Sheikh Salahuddin:

Will the Minister for Law and Justice be pleased to state:

(a) the year-wise total number of recommendations presented bythe Council of Islamic Ideology to the Ministry during the lastfive years; and

(b) the number of said recommendations which have beenimplemented by the Government in letter and spirit so far?

Minister for Law and Justice: (a) The Council of Islamic ideology hasmade one hundred and eight (108) recommendations during the last five years(2012-17). However, only one annual report consisting of 33 recommendationsfor the year 2012-13 was submitted to Ministry of Law and Justice in 2016.

(b) The Council of Islamic ideology makes recommendations to theParliament under Article 230 of the Constitution. It is for the Parliament to takedecision for implementation or otherwise of the recommendations of Council ofIslamic Ideology.

——————————————————————————————@ Transferred from Religious Affairs and Inter-Faith Harmony Division.

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191. *Ms. Naseema Hafeez Panezai:


(a) the duration of loadshedding of electricity in Pashtun areas ofBalochistan at present; and

(b) whether there is any proposal under consideration of theGovernment to reduce the same; if so, when it will beimplemented?

Reply not received.

192. *Engineer Dawar Khan Kundi:

Will the Minister for Energy be pleased to state whether it is a factthat four years ago loan for construction of twelve new grid stationswas obtained from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank;if so, the interest paid to the said banks thereon by the Governmentso far?

Minister of Power Division (Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari):It is apprised that around four years back NTDC signed the loan agreementswith ADB for construction of 9 Grid Stations. The name of the projectssigning date, closing date, disbursement in Rupees, markup rate and markup amount is enclosed as Annex-I. Whereas NTDC has not signed any loanwith World Bank or other foreign lender for construction of Grid Stationsfour years back.

The foreign loans were relent to NTDC at the markup rate of 15% p.awhereas the actual markup payment made to ADB in equivalent USD is theresponsibility of Economic Affairs Division and in accordance with the termsand conditions agreed between the Government of Pakistan and the lendingagency wherein actual markup rate is in LIBOR+Spread base. Therefore,for actual quantum of markup, the matter may be taken up with EconomicAffairs Division.

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193. *Ms. Aisha Syed:

Will the Minister for Postal Services be pleased to state:

(a) the year-wise details of income earned from the Pakistan Postsince 01-01-2016; and

(b) the steps taken by the Government for the betterment of thePakistan Post since June, 2013?

Minister for Postal Services (Moulana Ameer Zaman): (a) Theposition of Revenue, of the Pakistan Post Office Department (PPOD)-for the lasttwo years is given below:—

(Figures in Million Rs.)——————————————————————————————

Year Revenue Receipts——————————————————————————————

2015-2016 10,231.3832016-2017 11,226.4892017-2018 B.E. 13,000.000

——————————————————————————————

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The following steps are being taken to control /cover up deficit of thePPOD:—

(i) The PPOD has already taken up the case with Finance Division toexclude the pension payment from budget/ expenditure of the PPOD.

(ii) Proposal for increase in existing Inland Postal Tariff is under process.

(iii) Costing of Saving Bank was carried out from Cost & ManagementFirm on the direction of Ministry of Finance with the following result:———————————————————————————————

Cost Return Total——————————————————————————————

Savings, Bank work 1.75% 0.09% 1.84%

Withholding Tax 0.10% 0.01% 0.11%

Zakat Deduction 0.10% - 0.10%

Total 1.95% 0.10% 2.05%——————————————————————————————

Accordingly a case for enhancement of rate of Post Office Commissionon Savings Scheme work is under process.

(b) Following steps have been taken by Pakistan Post Management toimprove the working and efficiency of the department.

INTRODUCTION OF UMS-CASH ON DELIVERY SERVICE (UMS-COD)

Pakistan Post has introduced a new service namely “UMSCASH ONDELIVERY”. Packets, parcels and printed papers prepaid with postage of UMSfee may be transmitted by the inland post as COD articles, provided that theamount specified for remittance to the sender in the case of any such articles doesnot exceed Rs. 100,000/-, At present, the UMS COD Service is available in 226cities and towns of the country.

INDUCTION OF ELECTRONIC MONEY ORDER SERVICE (EMO).

Electronic Money Order (IMO) is the swift way to transfer money fromone post office to other post office. The EMO Service is considered as the safe,affordable and accurate to transfer, money in Pakistan among 83 GPOs.

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SALIENT FEATURES OF ELECTRONIC MONEY ORDER (EMO)

Booking of money orders at the counters Instant Transmission of money order Available to en-cash at any GPO instantly More secure with unique transaction identifier SMS notification to the customers for Post to Post Service.

ENHANCING MAXIMUM LIMIT OF URGENT MONEY ORDERS(UMO)

To cater the varied needs of the customers and to enhance the scope ofthe service, maximum limit of a single Urgent Money Order has, been enhancedfront Rs. 10,000/- to Rs. 20,000/- and for UMS-COD a, single Urgent MoneyOrder has been enhanced from Rs. 20,000/- to Rs. 100,000/,

EXPANSION OF EXPRESS POST TRACK & TRACE SYSTEM(EMTTS)

Express Mail Track & Trace System (EMTTS) which is available at83 General Post Offices (GPOs), 03 Post Malls, 04 Post Officesand 52 District Mail Offices (DMOS).

Provision of SMS intimation to sender and recipient regardingdelivery and booking of EP articles

Established Call Center for Customer on modern lines.

MOTORIZATION OF POSTMEN BEATS.

For prompt disposal of Postal Mail Pakistan Post has provided 1961motor cycles to Postmen.

AGREEMENT WITH NADRA

Pakistan Post has recently signed an agreement with NADRA regardingRenewal / Modification and Delivery of CNIC throughout Pakistan. The pilotProject is underway in ten Postal Locations which will be extended throughout thecountry. The scheme will generate revenue for Pakistan Post as well as providefacility to the general public.

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SAME DAY DELIVERY SERVICE AT LAHORE AS PILOT PROJECT.

To counter the market penetration of the private courier companies and todiversify services portfolio to capture emerging market segments in Lahore City,Same Day Delivery Service was launched for Lahore City on experimental basisat selected Post Offices for selected areas with special rates, by utilizing existinghuman; technical and budgetary resources. Business statistics and customerresponse is very encouraging and reflects success of the service.

Following steps are under process to improve postal service in thenear future:—

Pakistan Post has taken steps for successful implementation of Reformagenda approved by the Honorable Prime Minister of Pakistan and initiatedfollowing three projects:.

1. Mobile Money Transfer Solution2. Pakistan Post Logistics Company3. Re-branding of Pakistan Post

1. Mobile Money Transfer Solution: .

PM approved this project under Public Private Partnership basis.Pakistan Post will convert its all manual money transfer services intolatest digital system meeting international standards. The servicesinclude in this system are (i) Pension (ii) Micro-finance (iii) G2P /Poverty Alleviation Schemes (iv) POS (v) ATM (vi) e-commerce(vii) Insurance (viii) International remittances (ix) Wallet Cards; and(x) Mobile Applications etc.

2. Pakistan Post Logistics Company

PM also approved this project under Public Private Partnership basis.Under this Project Pakistan Post established Logistics Companyi.e., POSTLOG. This Company will provide latest technology basedlogistics services to the general public of Pakistan.

3. Re-branding of Pakistan Post

Developing Post Office as a brand and center of convenience &technology. Up-gradation of appearance and facilities in the postoffices for its better look and feel.

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4. Another project of NIPA Korea is in collaboration with Korea Postis under progress for automation of post offices. This project will becompleted in three phases.

To bring transparency in the department Pakistan Post follows andimplements the PPRA Rules in letter and spirit.

194. *Mr. Junaid Akbar:


(a) the total number of commercial gas connections provided in theMughal Market, Sector I-8/1, Islamabad;

(b) whether it is a fact that said commercial gas connections arecausing low gas pressure for the domestic consumers of gas inthe said Sector;

(c) if the answers to part (a) and (b) above are in the affirmative,whether there is any proposal under consideration of theGovernment to separate said commercial gas connections fromthe domestic consumers to overcome low gas pressure in the saidareas; if so, when it will be implemented; and

(d) the steps taken to solve low gas pressure in the said area so far?

Minister of State for Petroleum Division (Mr. Jam Kamal Khan):(a) SNGPL has reported that 09 commercial gas connections have been providedin the Mughal Market Sector I-8/1, Islamabad which are operational for the lastmany years.

(b) No. Low gas pressure in a locality is primarily attributable to a numberof factors including but not limited to gap of demand & supply during peak hoursand use of compressors etc. in the winter season.

(c) As above.

(d) A pipeline of 16" dia x 5 KM is being laid to further strengthenpressure position in sector I-8/1 Islamabad.

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195. *Mr. Muhammad Muzammil Qureshi:

Will the Minister for Science and Technology be pleased to state:

(a) the prescribed criteria for registration of Engineers in thePakistan Engineering Council (PEC), Islamabad at present; and

(b) the names and addresses of Engineers registered with the PECfrom Karachi since June, 2013?

Minister for Science and Technology (Rana Tanveer Hussain): (a)Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) registers the engineering graduates, graduatedfrom an accredited engineering program of University / Higher Education Institution(HEI) in two categories. i.e. “Registered Engineer” (R.E) and “ProfessionalEngineer” (P.E) after fulfillment of prescribed criteria.

1. Engineering graduates, graduated before April 2005 are eligible tobe registered as “Professional Engineer”. They need to fulfill thefollowing criteria:

i. Four years accredited engineering degree from recognizeduniversity/ HEI

ii. 60% marks in F.Sc (Pre-engineering) or equivalent

iii. 17 Continued Professional Development (CPD) Points

iv. Personal interview

2. Engineering graduates, graduated after April, 2005 are registered as“Registered Engineers” (R.E) on fulfillment of the followingcriteria:

i. Four years accredited engineering degree from recognizedUniversity / HEI

ii. 60% marks in F.Sc (Pre-engineering) or equivalent.

3. The Registered Engineers become eligible for upgradation of his/her registration with PEC from “Registered Engineer” to“Professional Engineer” (P.E) on fulfillment of following conditions:

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i. Five years’ experience after registration with PEC as RegisteredEngineer (R.E).

ii. 17 Continued Professional Development (CPD) Points.

iii. Passing of Engineering Practice Examination (EPE).

The CPD points are to be earned through Job / service experience, attendingseminars / lectures, acquiring higher qualifications etc.

(b) As per PEC record, 6100 engineers are registered from Karachisince June 2013. Detail of the 6100 engineers is attached as Annex-A.

(Annexure has been placed in the National Assembly Library)

196. *Sheikh Salahuddin:

Will the Minister for Communications be pleased to state:

(a) the location-wise National Highways reconstruction/restorationprojects which are under completion in the country at present;and

(b) the time by which said projects will be completed?

Minister for Communications (Hafiz Abdul Kareem): (a) Maintenanceof National Highways is carried out through allocations under Annual MaintenancePlan (AMP) prepared each year. The maintenance categories include RoutineMaintenance, Periodic Maintenance, Highway Safety, Special Maintenance andEmergency Maintenance, etc. Province-wise summary of maintenance contractawarded by NHA for repairing of existing roads during three years is given below:—

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(b)——————————————————————————————

AMP F.Y. Maintenance Activity Status——————————————————————————————

2015-16 Routine Maintenance CompletedPeriodic Maintenance Procurement in process

2016-17 Routine Maintenance Substantially CompletedPeriodic Maintenance Procurement in process

2017-18 Routine Maintenance Procurement in processPeriodic Maintenance

——————————————————————————————(Annexures have been placed in the National Assembly Library)

197. *Ms. Aliya Kamran:


(a) whether it is a fact that the Website of the Islamabad High Courtremains unoperational after the office hours; if so, the reasonsthereof;

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(b) the time since the said practice has started; and

(c) whether there is any proposal under consideration of theGovernment to keep the said Website operational round theclock; if so, the time by which it will be implemented; if not, thereasons thereof?

Minister for Law and Justice: (a), (b), & (c) The requisite information

was not available in this Division. The Registrar, Islamabad High Court wasrequested to provide the requisite information, who has informed that the websiteof the Court is properly functioning round the clock. However, it remained closedafter office hours for couple of days due to its maintenance and some developmentwork.

198. *Mr. Muhammad Muzammil Qureshi:

Will the Minister for Energy be pleased to refer to the Starred QuestionNo.51 replied on 03-11-2017 and to state:

(a) how old is the transmission network of the Sui Northern GasPipelines Limited (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas CompanyLimited (SSGCL) separately;

(b) the percentage of decline occurred in the Unaccounted for Gas(UFG) losses of SSGCL after promulgation of the Gas(Theft Control & Recovery) Ordinance, 2016;

(c) whether the UFG losses are getting increased due to ill-planningand execution of the SSGCL;

(d) whether losses of UFG are not being decreased by such stepstaken by the Government;

(e) if answers to part (c) and (d) above are in the affirmative,whether any plan has been made by the Government to fixresponsibility of said losses; and

(f) the estimated reduction is expected till the completion of tenureof the present Government?

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Minister of State for Petroleum Division (Mr. Jam Kamal Khan):(a) Both the gas utility companies i.e. SNGPL and SSGC have reported that theirpipeline segments have been commissioned in various years, the oldest since 1955and newest being commissioned in November, 2017. The detail of transmissionnetworks of SNGPL & SSGC is given at Annex-I & II respectively.

(b) As mentioned in quarterly comparison table below, after theenactment of “Gas Theft Control & Recovery Ordinance 2016”, decrease inUFG % has been observed so far, as UFG trend was higher in FY- 2016-17 (1stQuarter) and it is lower in (1st Quarter) in 2017-18.——————————————————————————————

After Promulgation of Gas (Theft Control Inc(+)/and Recovery Ordinance 2016) Dec(-)

——————————————————————————————Jul.-Sep. Jul.-Sep. 2016-17 vs.2016-17 2017-18 2017-18(1st Qtr) (1st Qtr)

—————————————————————————————— WithAdjustments:UFG % 13.19% 11.70% -1.49%——————————————————————————————* Comparison made on 2016-17 policy.

(c) SSGCL has reported that after the implementation of “Gas TheftControl & Recovery Act 2016” efforts have been made to reduce gas theft but itis important to mention that the gas theft is not the only contributing factor of UFGas other major factors are also involved in increasing UFG losses i.e. Measurementerrors, Leakages & Swapping of gasses.

(d) SSGC is in process to implement the comprehensive UFG controlstrategy 2017-18 to overcome the above said major issues and it is expected thatthe effective implementation of the above strategy will yield positive reduction inUFG by the end of the year 2017-18.

(e) Determination of UFG bench mark is the exclusive domain of OGRA.The quantum of UFG within a bench mark is pass through in price where asquantum of UFG exceeding bench mark is deducted from the revenues of Suicompanies. Most recently OGRA has completed a UFG study which providesrevised UFG bench marks as well as improvement in the efficiency of operations.

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(f) The implementation of the said UFG study is likely to yield fruitfulresults in near futures, i.e. by the end of the year 2017-18.


199. *Shaikh Rohale Asghar:


(a) the reasons for not establishing the authority to regulate theprivate courier service so far in the country; and

(b) the time by which it will be established?

Minister for Postal Services (Moulana Ameer Zaman): (a) InPakistan, private courier services are operating without any regulatory authority.There is a strong need to have a regulatory mechanism in place, the authorityhas not been established due to non-existence of legislation on the subject. Inthis regard; “The Pakistan Private Courier Regulatory Authority Bill-2015”introduced by Ms. Belum Hussnain, MNA, in the House on 10th February,2015 was referred to the Standing Committee on Communications by the Speaker,National Assembly.

The Standing Committee on Communications after due deliberations withstakeholders referred the bill to the Sub-Committee. The Sub-Committee presentedits report to the Standing Committee on 28-03-2017 and the Standing Committeeon Communications adopted the report presented by Sub-Committee on . “ThePakistan Private Courier Regulatory Authority Bill, 2015” (moved by Ms. BelumHussnain, MNA).

(b) Regulatory Authority will be established after legislation is passed bythe Parliament.

200. *Engineer Dawar Khan Kundi:

Will the Minister for Energy be pleased to state the time by which theNational Transmission and Dispatch Company will complete theconstruction work of the grid stations being constructed in the countryat present alongwith the locations thereof?

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Minister of Power Division (Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari):The detail of Grid Stations being constructed by National Transmission & DispatchCompany in the country at present is attached as Annex-A.

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201. *Mr. Junaid Akbar:

Will the Minister for Law and Justice be pleased to state whether thespeedy justice is possible in the country; if so, the steps taken in thisregard since June, 2013; if not, the reasons thereof?

Minister for Law and Justice: Dispensation of justice in the country isone of the top priorities of the present Government. The Prime Minister hadconstituted a Law Reforms Committee for consideration, inter-alia, of the lawreforms for provisions of expeditious and inexpensive justice to people. Afterextensive deliberations by the Law Reforms Committee, Bills are finalized to helpin reducing the time involved in litigation, help to reduce burden on courts andstreamline the procedures for effective administration of justice. So far the followinglaws in this regard have been made by the Parliament:–

(a) The Cost of Litigation Act, 2017 (XVII of 2017). Purpose is todiscourage frivolous litigation and unnecessary adjournments. BothCivil and Criminal cases have been covered. It would help incurtailment of delays and speedy disposal of cases.

(b) he Explosive Substances (Amendment) Act, 2017 (XVI of 2017).The procedure for trial and sanction of trial has been simplified.

(c) The Alternate Dispute Resolution Act, 2017 (XX of 2017). ADRboth in civil and criminal (compoundable offences). The Bill whenenacted will help in reducing the burden on Courts, reducing backlogand speedy disposal of cases.

(d) The Land Acquisition (Amendment) Act, 2017 (XXIII of 2017).

(e) The illegal Dispossession (Amendment) Act, 2017 (XXVIII of 2017).Land grabbing is quite common and in some cases organized groupsare involved.

(f) The Criminal Law (Amendment) (Offences in the Name or on Pretextof Honor) Act, 2016 (XLIII of 2016)

(g) The Criminal Law (Amendment) (Offences relating to Rape) Act,2016 (XLIV of 2016)

(h) The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 2017.

(i) The Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Act, 2017 (Act No.XXI of 2017) providing for protection, security and benefits ofwitnesses to avoid delay in trial of offences due to security threats;

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(j) The Constitution (Twenty-third Amendment) Act, 2017 (Act No,XII of 2017) relating to speedy trial of offences of terrorism, etc;

(k) The Pakistan Army (Amendment) Act, 2017 (Act No. XI of 2017)relating to speedy trial of offences of terrorism, etc;

(l) The Islamabad Subordinate Judiciary Service Tribunal Act, 2016(Act No, V of 2016) to speed up deciding cases of subordinatejudiciary through a special tribunal, for avoiding delay in such casesby the service tribunal;

(m) The Criminal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2016 (Act No. VI of 2016)providing for designation of separate Electricity Utilities Court fortrial of offences relating to electricity;

(n) The Gas (Theft Control and Recovery) Act, 2016 (Act No. XI of2016) providing for Gas Utility Courts for expeditious disposal ofcases;

(o) The Offences in Respect of Banks (Special Courts) (Amendment)Act, 2016. (Act No. XXII of 2016) providing for opportunity toprefer appeal against an order passed by Special Court (Offences inBanks); and

The following Bills are pending legislation in the Parliament.

i. Evening Courts Bill, 2017ii. The Juvenile Justice System Bill, 2017

A comprehensive review of the Pakistan Penal Code and CriminalProcedure Code was also undertaken by the Law Reforms Committee. Therecommendations have been sent to interior Division for consultation withstakeholders and processing the legislation under the Government Rules ofBusiness, 1973.

A Bill “The Civilian Victims of Terrorism (Relief and Rehabilitation) Bill,2017 providing for compensation to Civilian Victim of terrorism (to the extent ofICT) has also been prepared by the Law and Justice Division and has beenforwarded to the concerned Division for further processing.

The Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2017 prepared by theLaw and Justice Division and approved by the Law Reforms Committee is also inthe pipeline.

Moreover, the web site of Law and Justice Ministry is being revised,updated and simplified so that the common man can easily understand and utilize

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laws which cater to present-day requirements. The process of translation of laws intoplain Urdu language has also been started for creating more awareness about laws.

202. *Ms. Aisha Syed:

Will the Minister for Energy be pleased to state the steps taken by theGovernment to reduce/end gas loadshedding in the country since June,2013?

Minister of State for Petroleum Division (Mr. Jam Kamal Khan):

Government and Gas utility companies have taken following steps to reduce/endgas load shedding since June 2013:—

1. LNG imports have been materialized and first flow of Re-gasifiedLNG (RLNG) has been injected into SNGPL’s Network on March27, 2015 and approximately 600 MMCFD is being injected to meetthe demand.

2. In addition second LNG terminal is in commissioning phase andinjection of additional RLNG in system is expected in third week ofDecember, 2017.

3. LNG Mega 42" dia RLNG pipeline and Compression project forsupply of 1.2 BCF/day to Northern areas of the country.

4. Various projects of system augmentations are being undertaken bygas utility companies which will help to reduce low pressure problems.

5. The gas from new gas discoveries will be injected into system uponcompletion of projects as stated in para 4 above.

203. *Shazia Marri:


(a) the gas reserves discovered in the country during the last fiveyears alongwith the details thereof separately; and

(b) whether it is a fact that many areas of Sindh are without gas atpresent despite of the fact that it is a major gas producer in thecountry?

Minister of State for Petroleum Division (Mr. Jam Kamal Khan):(a) The details of gas reserves discovered in the country during the last five yearsis attached as Annex-I

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The summary of District and Tehsil Headquarters of Sindh which are ongas is appended below:———————————————————————————————

SINDH TOTAL ON GAS——————————————————————————————

District HQ 29 27Tehsil HQ 121 102

——————————————————————————————SSGCL has reported that remaining 2 DHQs (Umerkot & Mithi) which

are not on gas, are being considered for providing gas supply through LPG AirMix Plants.


204. *Ms. Khalida Mansoor:

Will the Minister for Energy be pleased to state whether it is a factthat Pakistan is obtaining/purchasing electricity from Iran, India andChina; if so, the daily quantum thereof?

Minister for Power Division (Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari):Requisite reply revived from Manager Technical-II o/o Chief Technical Officer(CPPA-G) vide letter NO.4162-63 dated 15-12-2017 is reproduced below:—

Power Purchase Agreement with Iran was signed in 2002, currentlyImporting 104 MW.

No power Purchase Agreement has been signed with Indiaby CPPA-G.

No Power Purchase Agreement has been signed with China byCPPA-G.

205. *Sahibzada Muhammad Yaqub:

Will the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs be pleased to state:

(a) the steps taken by the Government to give right to the OverseasPakistanis in coming elections to cast their votes; and

(b) whether electronic voting machines will be utilized in the GeneralElections-2018?

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Minister for Parliamentary Affairs (Sheikh Aftab Ahmed): (a) (i)Under Section - 94 of the Election Act - 2017: “The Commission may conductpilot projects for voting by Overseas Pakistanis in bye-elections to ascertain thetechnical efficacy, secrecy, security and financial feasibility of such voting and shallshare the results with the Government, which shall, within fifteen days from thecommencement of a session of a House after the receipt of the report, lay thesame before both Houses of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament).

In this section, Overseas Pakistani means a citizen of Pakistan under thePakistan Citizenship Act, 1951 (ii of 1951) or holder of National Identify Card forOverseas Pakistanis under the National Database and Registration Authorityordinance, 2000 (VIII of 2000) who is working or residing abroad permanentlyor temporarily for riot less than six months.”

ii. Details of Pilot Testing and finding of UNDP expert report onOverseas Voting are attached for kind perusal (Annex-I).

iii. Moreover, Election Commission of Pakistan is making all out effortsto accomplish the task. NADRA has already been directed by the ParliamentaryCommittee to come up with solution/procedure for voting in this regard.

(b) Under Section-94 of Election Act-2017, the ECP and NADRAare working on plan of conduct of pilot project. Moreover under section-103 ofElection Act-2017, the ECP will keep continue pilot testing. The report of EVMand BVM pilot projects are at Annex-II.


206. *Dr. Nikhat Shakeel Khan:


(a) whether it is a fact that there is a shortage of women judicialofficers in the High and Supreme Courts benches at present; ifso, the details alongwith the reasons thereof; and

(b) the steps being taken by the Government to overcome the saidshortage?

Minister for Law and Justice: (a) No specific quota is reserved forlady judicial officers for elevation/appointment in the High Courts and the SupremeCourt.

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There is also no bar on the elevation/ appointment of lady Judges in theSuperior Courts. However, a list of female Judges appointed in the High Court’s isat Annex-I.

After insertion of Article 175-A in the Constitution through 18th Amendmenta three step procedure has been prescribed for appointment of Judges in theSuperior Courts, which is as follows:—

i) Nomination by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP).

ii) Confirmation by a Parliamentary Committee and;

iii) Appointment by the President.

(b) In the above mentioned steps, no role has been left for the Ministryof Law and Justice except to issue Notification for appointment of judges onapproval by the President.

207. *Sheikh Salahuddin:

Will the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs be pleased to state thesteps being taken by the Government to conduct upcoming generalelections free and fair?

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Minister for Parliamentary Affairs (Sheikh Aftab Ahmed):

Steps taken by the Election Commission of Pakistan for nextGeneral Elections

In order to ensure that the election is conducted honesty, justly, fairly andaccordance with law, Election Commission is taking following steps:

I. Electoral Reforms

Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms was established inJuly, 2014 under the Chairmanship of Senator lshaq Dar. After severalmeetings the Election Act, 2017 has been passed and approved bythe Parliament and upcoming general elections will be conductedaccording to that act. During the course of preparation of the act, theElection Commission fully assisted the Committee.

II. Delimitation of Constituencies:

After publication of population census it is mandated under Article51(5) of the Constitution the seats in the National Assembly shall beallocated to each Province, Federally Administrated Tribal Areasand Federal Capital. In light of that the delimitation of constituenciesshall be made. The Election Commission of Pakistan sensitized thegovernment for making necessary amendments in the constitution/law alongwith supply of requisite details for initiation of the exercise.The Election Commission of Pakistan held a meeting with the officersof Statistics Division, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics and Law Divisionfor getting updates on the matter and showed concern of delay.Consequently, Speaker National Assembly convened a meeting ofParliamentary Leaders of all political parties in order to deliberateupon the way forward for initiation of delimitation of constituencies.Accordingly a draft Constitutional amendment was tabled in theNational Assembly on November 2, 2017. The matter is pendingwith the Parliament.

III. Procurement of Election Material

The tender for procurement of election material has been finalized.In this respect the quality of election material including foldablescreens, official code mark stamps, polling bags, etc has beenimproved. Similarly for arrangement of printing of ballot paper onwater mark, various meetings have been held with PCP, NSCP and

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PPF Presses and requirements of funds have also been made fromFinance Division.

IV. Data-Bank of polling staff

The Election Commission of Pakistan has prepared data bank ofofficers and officials to be appointed as Presiding Officers, AssistantPresiding Officers and Polling Officers to facilitate their training wellbefore the elections.

V. Setting up of Independent Monitoring Wing

Monitoring Wing has been established in the ECP to oversee pre-poll, post poll activities and point out illegal practices, including hugespending on Electoral exercises in violation of Law. TORs formonitoring teams are under process.

VI. Interaction with Political Parties and Civil Society organizations

Meetings are held and will be held with political parties and Civilsociety organizations for consultation on important matters such aspreparation and finalization of existing Code of Conduct to get theirfeedback/suggestions for making improvement in election process.Some NGOs are also in touch with ECP. Recently a workshop hasbeen held with media for apprising the preparation about GeneralElections.

VII. Re-activation of District Voters Education Committees

130 District Voters Education Committees are formed with DistrictElection Commissioners as chairman and representatives of DistrictEducation, Local Governments, Health departments andrepresentatives of indigenous civil society as its members. The mandateof the DVECs is to motivate the general public especially womenand specifically rural women, persons with disabilities, transgenderand other marginalized groups with the help of civil Societyorganizations, notables of the area and relevant departments in eachdistrict to take part in electoral activities including registration of votes.

VIII. Establishment of Federal Election Academy

In order to horne the skills of officers of ECP Federal ElectionAcademy has been established at Postal staff college G8/4,Islamabad. Courses on regular basis “Interpersonal Skills and

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Capacity Development Training Programme” are being conducted.Apart from that polling staff will be trained for which lists from variousdepartments have been procured (four Provinces) for selection ofwell-reputed Polling Personnel.

IX. Electronic Voting Machines and Bio-metric VerificationMachines

Election Commission of Pakistan procured 150 EVMs and 100 BVMsby following PPRA rules. These machines were also tested in PilotProject of NA-4 and NA-120 dated 26th October and 17thSeptember, 2017 respectively. The reports of these Pilot Project havebeen compiled and its experiences were also shared with the media.

X. Establishment of Warehouses for Storage of Election Material

In order to safeguard Election material four model warehouses onein each province be established. Thirty more warehouses are beingestablished across the country at each divisional level.

Xl. GIS Mapping of polling stations

Election Commission of Pakistan has successfully conducted GISsurvey of all the polling stations upto 71000 across country. Now aday’s extension work is under progress of adding additional pollingstations for preparation of General Elections, 2018.

XII. Gender Wing

An exclusive has been established in the ECP with following mandate:

(i) Encourage inclusion of female staff at ECP

(ii) Develop strategies and implementation plans for reducing thegender disparity

(iii) Conduct research to identify barriers for women andmarginalized sections of society from participation in electoralprocess

(iv) Develop a mechanism to electoral process inclusive as perGoal# 8 of Strategic Plan

(v) Due to efforts of this wing some new provision in Election Acthas been added and steps taken by ECP as:

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ECP has developed gender sensitive curriculum/materialfor training of the polling staff on gender issues faced duringthe poll day.

ECP has engaged NADRA to focus on those electoralareas where women registration is less than 40% ascompared to men. In this regard, data of all such electoralareas has been shared with NADRA with the request tosend their Mobile Registration Vans (MRVs) to theseareas for issuing of National Identity Cards so that theycan be registered as voters by the ECP. Same data hasalso been shared with District Voter Education Committeemembers to reach out and raise awareness to the grassroot communities and facilitate the women in the far flungareas to get registered as voters.

Election Commission has made a check list for pollingstations to be gender sensitive whereby it mentions that tomake polling stations accessible to People with Disabilitiesand Women it must be ensured that the polling stationsare at ground floor, well lit and in an accessible area.

To increase the number of women candidates the ElectoralLaw 2017 makes it mandatory for the political parties toallocate 5% of the tickets to women contestants.

XIII. Giving the Right of vote to the Overseas Pakistanis.

During past few years some political parties had made lot of hue andcry that overseas Pakistanis may be given right of franchise, Thepros and cons of the matter are being deliberated in various meetingsof Parliamentary Committees established for the said purpose. Inthe meeting of Sub-Committee on Electoral Reforms was held on19th December, 2016 in the Parliament House where NADRApresented a technical solution/ proposal of Internet Voting forOverseas Pakistanis. Further the Chair of the Committee has directedthe NADRA to share detailed solution / proposal with the Hon’bleElection Commission. NADRA then presented the solution beforethe Hon’ble Election Commission in April 2017, but that solutionwas not practicable solution, it was rather just conceptual. WhereasECP wants to see something practicable and foolproof which

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NADRA authorities unable to present. In the new Election Act asection has been added as below:

The Commission may conduct pilot projects for voting byOverseas Pakistanis in bye-election to ascertain the technicalefficacy, secrecy, security and financial feasibility of such votingand shall share the results with the Government, which shallwithin fifteen days from the commencement of a session of aHouse after the receipt of the report, lay the same before bothHouses of Majlis-eShoora (Parliament).”

In this section, Overseas Pakistani means a citizen of Pakistan underthe Pakistan Citizenship Act, 1951 (II of 1951) or holder of NationalIdentity Card for Overseas Pakistanis under the National Databaseand Registration Authority Ordinance, 2000 (VIII of 2000) who isworking or residing abroad permanently or temporarily for not lessthan six months. Election Commission will make pilot testing fromtime to time to check the feasibility.

XIV. Revision/ Updatation of Electoral Rolls

Last Revision/up-dation of Electoral Rolls was carried out in year2016, voter count increased from 93 million voters to 97 millionvoters. For year 2017, revision/up-dation of Electoral Rolls isexpected to be carried out from December, 2017 – April 2013 andit is expected that voter count would be increased from 97 million to102 million voters before General Elections, 2018. In this respect ameeting has been held with NADRA attended by its Chairman on2nd November, 2017.

XV. Result Management System (RMS):

The Polling station wise Result Management System (RMS)has been specially designed for upcoming General Elections toimprove the accuracy, efficiency and transparency of the resulttabulation process. RMS has been used by the Returning Officer(RO) in multiple pilot projects during Bye-Elections at the timeof preparing ‘unofficial results’ and for consolidation of electionresults. The RMS has the capacity to store all the scan pagesof Forms-XIV, XVI & XVII along with data stored into thedatabase permanently for Audit trail accountability purposes.

Before going into large scale implementation in General election2018, ECP has already conducted more than dozens pilots.

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208. *Ms. Naseema Hafeez Panezai:

Will the Minister for Science and Technology be pleased to state:

(a) whether it is a fact that a building of the Pakistan Standardsand Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) is being constructedin Quetta;

(b) the total expenditures to be incurred thereon;

(c) the time by which construction work of same will be completed;

(d) the total posts of the office of the PSQCA in Quetta at present;

(e) the total posts lying vacant in the said office at present; and

(f) the district-wise employees of Balochistan working in the saidoffice at present?

Minister for Science and Technology (Rana Tanveer Hussain): (a)Yes, PSQCA’s building under the PSDP Project namely “Construction ofPSQCA offices & Lab for Quetta” is being constructed at Quetta.

(b) The project was approved at a cost of Rs. 51.031 Million

(c) The construction work started in May 2017 .The Project is expectedto be completed within a time frame of 18 Months as per PC-1

(d) The working strength of Quetta Office are as follows:

(BS-17)-04(BS-10)-02(BS-05)-01(BS-04)-01(BS-01)-03

(e) NIL.

(f)

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209. *Ms. Khalida Mansoor:

Will the Minister for Human Rights be pleased to state:

(a) whether all the people living in Pakistan are enjoying theirhuman rights; and

(b) the prescribed punishments for violaters of Human Rights inPakistan at present?

Minister for Human Rights (Mr. Mumtaz Ahmed Tarar): (a) Yes, allthe people living in Pakistan are enjoying their human rights as envisaged under theConstitution (Articles 8-28) and relevant laws. The Government of Pakistan iscommitted to ensure protection and promotion of human rights of all its citizens inline with national and international obligations. However, various human rightsviolations also take place, which are taken up by the Ministry of Human Rightswith the relevant authorities for redressal.

(b) The punishments for violators of human rights in Pakistan areprescribed in various laws, at present. A detailed list of major human rights violationcategories alongwith punishments thereof, under the relevant laws, is at Annex-I.


ISLAMABAD: TAHIR HUSSAIN,The 20th December, 2017 Secretary.

PCPPI—4779(2017) NA—20-12-2017—650.

1

(50th Session)

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SECRETARIAT

————

“UNSTARRED QUESTIONS AND THEIR REPLIES”

For Thursday, the 21st December, 2017

7. Ms. Surriya Asghar:(Deferred during 48th Session)


(a) the names of training institutions/academies working under thePower Division for capacity building of its employees at present;

(b) the details of teaching faculty of the said institutions alongwiththeir qualifications and experiences;

(c) the syllabus being taught in the said institutions at present;

(d) the institution and post-wise number of employees trained duringthe financial year 2015-16;

(e) the institution-wise total expenditures incurred thereon; and

(f) the steps being taken by the Government to improve theinstitutional capacity of the said institutions/academies?

Reply not received.

29. Nawab Muhammad Yousaf Talpur:(Deferred on 13-12-2017)


(a) whether it is a fact that the final seniority list of Senior Engineers(Non-Generation) was issued by the PEPCO on 17-10-2017;

Shoaib.M 1st Rota Day (2017) NA (US) PC-9

2

(b) whether it is also a fact that the said list contained the names ofXENs of NTDC;

(c) if the answers to part (a) and (b) above are in the affirmative,the reasons for making promotions from XENs to S.Es of theNTDC itself instead of the PEPCO; and

(d) the details of such promotions made since 01-01-2010?

Minister for Power Division (Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari):(a) Yes, the seniority list of Senior Engineers (Non-Generation) BPS-18 workingin DISCOs/NTDC under PEPCO was issued on 17.10.2017, on integrated basis,as per prevailing procedure.

(b) Yes, the seniority list contains the names of all those Senior Engineersworking under PEPCO, including officers DISCOS and NTDC, who wereappointed as Junior Engineers upto 31.12.1995 on centralized basis.

(c) The Ministry has empowered the PEPCO, as extended from time totime, as per letters dated; 03-04-2017, 19-08-2016, 22-01-2016, 02-07-2015,31-12-2014 (copies attached), that “all selection/promotion boards of officers inBS-18 and above, on the basis of integrated seniority would continue to be heldby PEPCO. All DISCOs/GENCOs/ NTDC/PITC would ensure timely submissionof officers’ related record to the HR wing of the PEPCO for timely considerationof all promotion cases.

Accordingly, at the time of conducting promotion boards, all corporateentities including DISCOs/GENCOs/ NTDC/ PITC are requested to providerequisite documents that is mandatory to ascertain the eligibility of concerned officersfor their promotion. However, the NTDC management did not provide anydocuments of their officers. Therefore, NTDC officers were deferred frompromotion due to non-providing of relevant documents.

(d) Requisite detail of Promotion of Senior Engineers/ XENs made byNTDC is placed at Annex-A.

(Annexure has been placed in the National Assembly Library.)

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30. Nawab Muhammad Yousaf Talpur:(Deferred on 13-12-2017)


(a) the details of all those cases of up-gradation/promotion of officersmade by the PEPCO, NTDC and DISCOs since 01-01-2010by allowing effectiveness from previous dates irrespective ofholding of meeting of Promotion/Up-gradation Board alongwithreasons thereof separately; and

(b) if a officer is eligible for up-gradation/promotion on a certaindate and a disciplinary case is pending against him that is decidedat a later stage by imposing a minor penalty by the competentauthority, in such case from which date he shall be entitled forup-gradation/promotion in the said office/company?

Reply not received.

32. Mr. Waseem Akhtar Shaikh:(Deferred on 13-12-2017)


(a) whether it is a fact that the Post Office Branch has not beenestablished at Village Phalkot Katli, Village Council-III, DistirctAbbottabad so far;

(b) if the answer to part ((a) above is in the affirmative, whetherthere is any proposal under consideration of the Government toopen/establish a Post Office Branch in the said location; if so,when it will be established; if not, the reasons thereof; and

(c) whether there is also any proposal under consideration of theGovernment to provide Telegram facility in the said Post OfficeBranch; if not, the reasons thereof?

Minister for Postal Services (Moulana Ameer Zaman): (a) As perreport of Postmaster General, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Circle, Peshawar, an EDBOwas functioning in village Phal Kot, District Abbotabad, whih was closed due tonil income and total loss of Rs. 6,518/- PA on 04-12-2000.

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(b) However, keeping in view the postal requirement of the area, thePhal Kot Post Office has been re-opened as demanded by the MNA.

(c) It is further added here that the telegram facilities in the country hassince been withdrawn by PTCL in the whole Pakistan, therefore, telegram facilitiescannot be provided in any Post Office.

35. Mr. Muhammad Muzammil Qureshi:(Deferred on 13-12-2017)


(a) whether the Government has taken notice of disarranged/tangled lines and poles of electricity in Mohallah Mazharabad,Rawalpindi;

(b) if the answer to part (a) above is in the negative, whether anysurvey has been conducted to improve existing infrastructure ofelectricity in the said area; if so, the details thereof; and

(c) the steps being taken to upgrade existing infrastructure ofelectricity in the said area?

Reply not received.

37. Ms. Aliya Kamran:(Deferred on 13-12-2017)


(a) the total number of toilets/bathrooms established for GeneralPublic in the Islamabad High Court;

(b) whether the said toilets/bathrooms are non functional since long;if so, the reasons thereof;

(c) whether any action has been taken against the responsibles; ifnot, the reasons thereof;

(d) whether bathrooms/toilets for women have been established inthe said Court; if so, the details; if not, the reasons thereof;

5

(e) whether there is any proposal under consideration of theGovernment to construct ladies bathrooms/toilets in the saidCourt; if not, the reasons thereof;

(f) whether there is no place for ladies to offer prayers in the saidCourt at present; and

(g) whether there is any proposal under consideration to reserve aplace for ladies to offer prayers in the said Court; if so, when itwill be implemented?

Minister for Law and Justice: The information received from IslamabadHigh Court is as under:—

(a) There are 19 numbers of General Public Toilets including 02 Ladies’Toilets adjacent to Ladies Bar Room established in Judicial Block ofIslamabad High Court. Six (06) numbers of toilets including 02 forladies are established in the Administration Block of Islamabad HighCourt and the same are being renovated as-and when required.

(b) All the said toilets are fully functional from the day Islamabad HighCourt was established.

(c) Not applicable.

(d) Two (02) numbers of Ladies’ Toilets are established in the JudicialBlock and 02 numbers of Ladies’ Toilets are established in theAdministration block of Islamabad High Court.

(e) Not applicable.

(f) Lady Lawyers offer prayers in the Ladies Bar Room established inJudicial Block of Islamabad High Court and Ladies staff of the Courtoffer prayers in Library Hall established in the Administration Blockof Islamabad High Court.

(g) As stated in part (f) above.

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39. Ms. Naeema Kishwar Khan:(Deferred on 13-12-2017)

Will the Minister for Defence be pleased to state:

(a) whether it is a fact that Mr. Manzoor Hussain, USM (TicketNo.1187), employee of the Central Ordnance Depot (COD),Rawalpindi died on 17-12-2005 during his service;

(b) if answer to part ((a) above is in the affirmative, whether it isalso a fact that his son is not being appointed in COD,Rawalpindi under the Prime Minister’s Assistance Package forFamilies of the Government Employees who die in service; ifso, the reasons thereof;

(c) whether it is also a fact that a plot is not being allotted to thewidow of the said deceased employee; if so, the reasons thereof;

(d) the action taken against the responsible thereof;

(e) the time by which appointment will be made under the saidpackage; and

(f) the steps taken by the Ministry to avoid such lapses in future?

Reply not received.

40. Ms. Naeema Kishwar Khan:(Deferred on 13-12-2017)


(a) whether it is a fact that a survey was conducted bythe Islamabad Electric Supply Company regarding installationof electric poles during the last year on the application submittedby M/S Noor Muhammad, Mulazim Saeed and Asim Zia residentsof Village Chakri Wakilan, Tehsil Gujarkhan;

(b) if so, the progress made thereon so far; if not, the reasonsthereof;

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(c) the time by which the said work will be completed alongwith the action taken so far against the officials who delayed thesaid work; and

(d) the steps taken by the Ministry to avoid such delay in future?

Minister for Power Division (Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari):(a) Yes, it is fact that a survey was conducted by the staff of IESCO regardinginstallation of electric poles during the last year as per application submitted byM/s Noor Muhammad, Mulazim Saeed and Asim Zia residents of village Chakriwakilan, Tehsil Gujar Khan;

(b) A proposal was prepared with below noted scope of work:—

i. Augmentation of existing 50KVA transformer with 100KVAtransformer.

ii. 4 No. LT structures.

The proposal was approved from P&E Directorate IESCO, only foraugmentation of transformer from (50KVA to 100KVA) vide Work Order No.2K17443-15 dated 18.05.2017 (copy attached). It is worth mentioning herethat 4 No. LT structures were not approved, being not covered under the rules,except cost deposit basis.

(c) The work for augmentation of transformer from 50KVA to 100KVAhas been completed as per its approved scope of work by IESCO constructionstaff on 26.06.2017. The request for provision of poles could not be consideredunder the prevailing policy / SOP, and same is not justified under rehabilitationprogramme, rather they are provided on cost deposit basis.

(d) There is no delay on the part of IESCO.

63. Mr. Waseem Akhtar Shaikh:


(a) whether it is a fact that unscheduled load shedding of electricityis being carried out by the administration of the SEPCO insurrounding villages/sub-division Radhan and TharariMuhabbat, Dadu City, Sindh;

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(b) whether it is also a fact that majority of consumers of the saidareas are paying bills of electricity timely;

(c) if the answers to part (a) and (b) above are in affirmative, whatsteps the Government intends to take for the incompetence ofthe relevant entity in order to resolve the difficulties being facedby the consumers of electricity of the said areas?

Reply not received.

ISLAMABAD: TAHIR HUSSAIN,The 20th December, 2017. Secretary.

PCPPI—4779 (2017) NA—20-12-2017—650.

48. laws and - parliament of pakistan · 2017 and the public interest disclosures act, 2017 are...

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