56. - na.gov.pkna.gov.pk/uploads/documents/questions/1583758680_148.pdf · (2) ±500kv hvdc bipole...

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(20th Session)

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SECRETARIAT

————

“QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWERS AND THEIR REPLIES”

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

Monday, the 9th March, 2020

56. *Ch. Aamir Sultan Cheema: (Deferred during 16th Session)

Will the Minister for Energy (Petroleum Division) be pleased to state:

(a) the procedure to give administrative approval for new schemesof natural gas supply;

(b) number of schemes of supply of natural Gas approved forNA-91, Sargodha (old NA-67) since 2011;

(c) number of schemes completed and pending in the saidConstituency so far alongwith reasons thereof; and

(d) as to when physical work will start on pending and new schemesof Gas in said Constituency?

Minister for Petroleum Division (Mr. Omar Ayub Khan): (a) SNGPL

has reported that the procedure for approval of gas scheme under SAPprogramme has been approved by the Federal Cabinet wherein a SteeringCommittee on SAP has been authorized to approve gas schemes. Theconcerned DCO/DC would fulfill the Codal/ Procedural formalities whileforwarding the schemes to the Cabinet Division for approval of the SteeringCommittee.

(b) The Company reported that thirteen (13) schemes wereapproved/ funds released since 2011.

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(c) The Company further reported that one scheme is completed sofar Pending schemes will be completed after receipt of funds from GOP againstthe lapsed amount and approval of the budget by the Company’s Board ofDirectors and OGRA. Detail of schemes is attached as Annex-A.

(d) As stated in part (c) above. The Company also apprised that sofar 65% work on the schemes has been completed against the sanctionedlength.

(Annexure has been placed in the National Assembly Library)

170. *Ms. Hina Rabbani Khar: (Deferred during 18th Session)

Will the Minister for Energy (Power Division) be pleased to state:

(a) what was the total accumulated circular debt on1st March, 2018; and

(b) what was the accumulated circular debt on 1st December, 2019?

Minister for Power Division (Mr. Omar Ayub Khan): (a) & (b)Summary of payables of Power Sector is as under:———————————————————————————————

Date Amount of Circular Debt (Payables)Pk Rs. (in millions)

——————————————————————————————1st March, 2018 Payable: Rs. 594,359

Whereas Loan of Power HoldingLimited were Rs. 437.713 Million

1st December, 2019 Payables was Rs. 981 Billion.Whereas Loans of Power Holding were

Rs. 804.163 Billion——————————————————————————————

There are a number of reasons attributed to this buildup mainly due todelay in capacity charges notification, tariff rationalization, and release of subsidyfrom Finance Division. However, it is anticipated that the same will be reducedwith the passage of time in pursuance of strict financial discipline and a numberof reforms introduced in the power sector by the current government. Currentlythe flow has dropped to Rs. 10-15 Billion/ month in comparison to Rs. 30Billion in FY 2017-18.

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80. *Mr. Abdul Qadir Patel: (Deferred during 19th Session)


(a) whether it is a fact that according to the International RenewableEnergy Agency’s Report, namely, Renewable ReadinessAssessment, thousands of villages in Pakistan do not have accessto electricity; if so, the estimated population, which do not haveaccess to electricity at present; and

(b) the year-wise road-map of the Government for electrificationof this rural population?

Minister for Power Division (Mr. Omar Ayub Khan): (a) Yes it is afact that IRENA’s Renewable Readiness Assessment report for Pakistan,conducted in 2018, stipulates that Pakistan’s electrification rate is estimatedat approximately 74% as of 2016 i.e. 51 million people (26% of the population)have no access to electricity, most of whom reside in rural areas.

(b) All new electrification schemes are executed by the DISCOs onthe funds transferred to DISCOs by the Federal Government / ProvincialGovernment under SDG achievement Programme. DISCOs do not carry outany new electrification under their own resources. However, the rehabilitationof existing electricity infrastructure is being carried out by DISCOs undertheir own resources. Hence, the road map for new electrification of villagesmentioned in the IRENA’s report depends upon the funds arranged by theFederal / Provincial Government or any other donor agency.

It is further stated that a new ARE Policy 2019 has been formulatedthat promotes distributed generation including off-grid solutions recognizingpotential mini/micro grids (MGs), off-grid, localized Energy Systems (LESs)and Business to Business solutions which offer to combat power scarcity.MGs / LESs can operate independently or in tandem with utility grids. Theyare intended to cater primarily to a cluster of consumers, and ease the load onthe utilities. A wide variety of configurations is possible, and this Policy doesnot intend to be prescriptive of the commercial or technical configurations ofsuch systems. The Policy objective is to create an enabling environment forMGs / LESs. This framework will certainly help in providing access to electricityto the off-grid rural population of Pakistan through public and private sectorinitiatives.

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Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, a non governmental entity supportedby bilateral and international donors, is also working on energy provision torural communities across the country.

87. *Ms. Hina Rabbani Khar: (Deferred during 19th Session)


(a) what steps are being taken by the Government to introduce newtechnology in the transmission and distribution system ofelectricity; and

(b) whether it is a fact that total circular debt has increased sinceJune, 2018;

(c) what was the total circular debt in June, 2018; and

(d) what was total circular debt in December, 2019?

Minister for Power Division (Mr. Omar Ayub Khan): (a)

TRANSMISSION SIDE

NTDC is presently working on the following projects to introduce thenew technology in its transmission system:

(1) ± 660kV High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) BipoleTransmission Line from Matiari to Lahore (886km) for evacuationof Bulk power transfer from upcoming southern power plants(Coastal & Thar) to mid-country load centres. The said HVDCTransmission Line is under construction.

(2) ±500kV HVDC bipole Transmission Line (CASA-1000 project)for the import 1000MW power from Central Asian States(Turkmenistan & Tajikistan) to Pakistan via Afghanistan. The saidproject is under implementation.

(3) 765kV High Voltage Alternating Current (HVAC) TransmissionLine for evacuation of power from Dasu hydropower project tothe load centre.

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(4) Series Compensation (FACTS technology) to enhance transfercapacity of the existing 500kV HVAC transmission system forpower dispersal of upcoming southern power plants to mid-country load centres. Its feasibility study is under progress.

(5) Installation of Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) as a pilotproject in Jhimpir wind cluster for grid frequency support andhandling intermittency in wind generation. PC-1 of BESS isapproved.

DISTRIBUTION SIDE

• Presently, LESCO/IESCO is implying Automated MeteringInfrastructure (AMI) using Automated Meter Reading (AMR)module.

• Installation of Arial Bundled Cables is also under process at theDistribution side in DISCOs.

• GIS Mapping of Primary Distribution & Transmission networkhas been done and its web based implementation is under process.

• Recording of meter reading from the field through mobile withsnap shotto curb the excess reading phenomenon.

• Monitoring of all the Grids & Distribution system by utilzing GPRSsystem through Distribution control centre established at DISCO’sHead Quarters/LDIP under Network Operations Centre in PITCHQ, Lahore.

• Consumer information system through SMS service.

• The concept of smart grid is under study/consideration. Distributedgeneration through Roof Top Solar net metering systems hasalready been started. 1930 number net metering connections,injecting roof top solar power to tune of 32.71 MW in respectivedistribution systems, have been commissioned so far.

For load shedding monitoring, an automatic metering system has beeninstalled on all Grids/Feeders of the country. The hourly schedule of loadmanagement is being fed into the system and all feeders are monitored 24/7using this system. Any consumer can check its load management schedule andactual loadshedding status by using Roshan pakistan.pk website or RoshanPakistan Mobile App.

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(b) Yes. The circular debt is being managed according to planenvisaged its reduction. As estimated that the continuation to buildup requiresadding/ settling time.

(c) The payables as on 30th June, 2018 was Rs. 544 Billion. WhereasLoans of Power Holding Company stands at Rs. 583.4 Billion

(d) The payables as on 1st December, 2019 was Rs. 981 Billion.Whereas Loans of Power Holding Company stands at Rs. 804.163 Billion.

95. *Ms. Romina Khurshid Alam: (Deferred during 19th Session)

Will the Minister for Human Rights be pleased to state:

(a) whether Ministry has taken notice that laws relating to womenhave not been implemented in letter and spirit;

(b) if so, whether Ministry has conducted any investigation; if so,the details thereof; and

(c) what steps are being taken by the Government to ensureimplementation of such laws in letter and spirit?

Minister for Human Rights (Dr. Shireen M. Mazari): (a) TheGovernment of Pakistan is committed to ensure protection and promotion ofHuman Rights with special focus on the Rights of Women and Girls in line withits national and international obligations. Besides, the Constitution of Pakistan(Article 8-28) and Convention on Elimination of all forms of DiscriminationAgainst Women (CEDAW), the key laws include the Criminal Law (Offencesrelating to Rape) Act 2016, Criminal Law (Offences relating to Honor Killing)Act 2016, The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2016 (Child Protection),National Commission on the Rights of the Child Act 2017, Hindu MarriageAct 2017, Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2018, The NationalCommission on the Status of Women (Amendment) Act 2018 and The ICTChild Protection Act 2018.

The Government is taking appropriate measures to ensureimplementation of all these laws in letter and spirit. Beside the Federal Ministryof Human Rights and Provincial Women Development Departments, National

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Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) and Provincial Commissionson the Status of Women (PCSWs) are working for protection and promotionof women rights in collaboration with the relevant Departments. As per itsmandate, the scope of NCSW encompasses review of federal laws, rules andregulations affecting the status and rights of women, and to suggest repeal,amendment or new legislation.

Direct implementation of the laws is not the mandate of NCSW aswomen related laws and their implementation is a devolved subject after the18th Constitutional Amendment. However, NCSW has the mandate to assessimplementation of policies, programs and other measures for gender equalityand make recommendations to the Federal Government and at the nationallevel. NCSW has been engaged in review of laws and assessment ofimplementation of laws related to women in collaboration with provincialCommissions under provincial laws and Non-Government Organizations.

(b) Ministry of Human Rights has conducted a Research Study onLegal Framework of Human Rights in Pakistan, with a view to harmonizewomen related laws to CEDAW and the Constitution. Besides, the NCSWhas also conducted a research study and published it as “Access to justice forvictims of sexual assault” under the Women Protection Act 2006. The reportis an in-depth analysis of randomly selected rape cases tried in LahoreHigh Court and Islamabad High Court.

Moreover, the Commission is monitoring acid crimes in collaborationwith a partner organization. There has been a 50 % reduction in acid crimesand the amended Acid Crime law (2011) is being implemented effectively.Similarly, after the enactment of the Cyber Crime Act, 2016 NCSW ismonitoring the implementation of this law, especially where women are victims.It is closely following one of the first court cases under the law to identifyproblems in the process of implementation.

NCSW organized a national Round Table Consultation on 26thSeptember, 2019 to review the Protection against Sexual Harassment ofWomen at Workplace Act 2010 which was attended by the Ombudspersons,parliamentarians, lawyers and CSOs. This discussion was organized to identifythe gaps and challenges in the law and its implementation from the perspectiveof Harassment Ombudspersons as implementers, and of those seekingredressal. It concluded with workable those seeking redressal. It concludedwith workable recommendations to address the issues in this regard.

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(c) The steps taken/ being taken by the Government to ensureimplementation of women specific laws in letter and spirit are as under:

• The Ministry of Human Rights regularly coordinates with relevantDepartments/ Organizations to address women related issues.As per law, all cases involving violation of women rights are takenup as a regular feature.

• 12 exclusive trainings on women specific laws were organized bythe Ministry of Human rights for prosecutors, lawyers and otherrelevant officials during 2017.

• The Ministry of Human Rights has launched a Toll Free Help-Line 1099 for legal advice on human rights violations. This initiativehas especially been designed to facilitate women’s access to justiceunder certain laws. Trained lawyers have been deputed to respondall such cases online and free of cost.

• The Ministry of Human Rights has launched a media campaignwith regard to inheritance of women.

• To challenge impunity of informal parallel justice system in thecountry, NCSW filed a petition in the year 2012 before theSupreme Court of Pakistan. A general declaration with regard tothe legality of this informal system was sought with the pray todeclare it illegal and ultra vires of the Constitution and its provisionsensuring the dignity, life and liberty of a human. Also the decisionsand proceedings of these bodies to be declared as null and voidlacking any judicial. NCSW pursued the case vigorously since2012, which was decided by Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP)in Jan, 2019

• The MoHR has launched a campaign focusing on Women Rightsparticularly to their inheritance and child rights including rights ofgirls. In this regard, messages from the chairman Council of IslamicIdeology, Dr. Qibla Ayaz are being disseminated through electronicmedia.

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96. *Ms. Tahira Aurangzeb: (Deferred during 19th Session)

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

(a) the name of cities of the country in which Model Courts areworking at present; and

(b) the number thereof?

Minister for Law and Justice (Dr. Muhammad Farogh Naseem):(a) & (b) The establishment/functioning of Model Courts is the domain ofSupreme Court of Pakistan, therefore, the Registrar, Supreme Court ofPakistan, Director General (Model Courts), Federal Judicial Academy andLaw and Justice Commission of Pakistan have been requested to provide therequisite information, which is still awaited, the same will be provided in theHouse as and when received from the concerned quarters.

99. *Ms. Shaza Fatima Khawaja: (Deferred during 19th Session)


(a) the increase in overall collection of power sector dueto addition of electricity in the national grid during last fiveyears; and

(b) whether such addition of electricity to national grid issufficient to overcome load shedding in the country?

Reply not received.

1. *Syed Imran Ahmad Shah:


(a) the existing law related to writting language ofcontracts enforced in the country along-with guidelines thereofparticularly with reference to writing of a contract/agreement,in terms of language, in which it should be written,

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comprehension of contents of contract/agreement by signatories,writing space among lines and size of writing fonts;

(b) whether the Government has taken notice that such guidelinesare being ignored, particularly by banks, cellular phonecompanies and other entities, which require to get sign a contract/agreement from a common man;

(c) if so, what steps are being taken by the Government to pursueall such entities, which require a contract/agreement to be signedby a common man in true spirit of the guidelines of existingcontract for its execution in relevant law?

Minister for Law and Justice (Dr. Muhammad Farogh Naseem):(a) Contracts are governed under the contract law applicable in Pakistan; assuch the law does not provide mandatory guidelines as to the form/format ofthe contract. Neither is the Government bound to prescribe any such guidelinesunder any applicable law.

(b) Nil.

(c) Nil.

2. *Mr. Saad Waseem:

Will the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs be pleased to state:

(a) whether audit of Election, 2018 with reference to administrativefailures of Election Commission of Pakistan to provide Form-45 to the contesting candidates, failure of Result TransmissionSystem, denial of recounting as provided in Election Act, 2017and other matter ancillary thereto; if so, what steps are takenby the Government to make the responsible accountable, hasbeen conducted; if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether ECP has evaluated discrepancies of administrative,nature, which include establishing polling stations for men andwomen at distance beyond the prescribed limit, posting of lessstaff and lack of training of the polling staff in said election; ifso, the details thereof; and

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(c) what steps are being taken by the Government to address suchdiscrepancies/shortcomings in future and ensure accountabilityof the ECP?

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs (Mr. Muhammad AzamKhan Sawati): (a) Regarding supply of Form-45 to the contesting candidatesor their election / polling agents explicit instructions were conveyed throughROs to the Presiding Officers. Such instructions were also part of trainingmanual of Presiding Officers (Annex-A). Additionally, as per feedbackreceived during post-election review exercise conducted under Section 14(2)of the Elections Act, 2017 copies of Form-45 were provided to those pollingagents who remained present till completion of vote count and preparation ofresult. As per observations of polling staff most of the polling agents left pollingstations once they observed vote count and did not wait for supply of relevantforms including Form-45. It is pertinent to mention here that Forms-45 werealso uploaded on ECP website immediately after General Elections 2018.

Result Transmission System (RTS) was introduced in GeneralElections-2018 in pursuance of Section 13(2) of the Elections Act, 2017. Asper record, out of 85,090 Presiding Officers, about 81,520 were got registeredon RTS application and the results from 42,862 Presiding Officers were gotregistered on the system. The Election Commission of Pakistan asked theFederal Government to form a committee to inquire into the malfunctioning ofRTS by comprising technical experts who may analyze the system. The FederalGovernment referred the matter of said inquiry to the Secretary NationalAssembly for inclusion of such inquiry under preview of Special ParliamentaryCommittee constituted for the purpose.

As far as denial of recounting is concerned attention is invited to sub-Section 5 of Section 95 of the Elections Act, 2017 which is reproducedbelow:—

“(5) Before commencement of the consolidation proceedings, theReturning Officer shall recount the ballot papers of one or morepolling stations if a request or challenge in writing is made by acontesting candidate or his election agent and the margin of victoryis less than five percent of the total votes polled in the constituencyor ten thousand votes, whichever is less, or the Returning Officerconsiders such request as not unreasonable.”

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Keeping in view provisions of section 95 the applications receivedbefore commencement of consolidation proceedings were duly entertained byReturning Officers. Similarly, 26 applications were also filed before the ECPunder section 95(6) of the Elections Act, 2017 which were allowed by theHon’ble Commission. Some applications were received in the ECP afterconsolidation of results however, the applicants were advised to approach theforum of Election Tribunal for redressal of their grievances. During the courseof post-election review activity it was found that the text of Section 95 (5)should be more clear and realistic so that the applications of recounting can beentertained swiftly.

(b) In post-election review all activities relating to election wereevaluated including lists of polling station and training of polling staff andestablishment of polling stations. Details of challenges faced and proposedrecommendations are provided at page 160, 161, 164, 165, 166 respectivelyof Annual Report 2018 (Annex - B). The report has already been sent to theFederal Government under Section 14 and Section 16 of the Elections Act,2017. There was no complaint received regarding posting of less staff or lackof training. However during exercise of post-election and interaction of pollingstaff it was observed capacity issues of staff of different departments whowere engaged for election duty. Likewise good number of polling stations andpolling booths were increased during General Elections 2018 Comparativechart below:———————————————————————————————

Polling Polling Increase Polling Polling Increase

Stations Stations in Booths Booths for in

for for polling for General Polling

General General stations General Election Booths

Election Election Election 2018.

2013 2018. 2013.

——————————————————————————————69,801 85,090 15,289 193,459 244,687 51,228

——————————————————————————————Likewise, training to the polling personnel appointed for the conduct

of General Elections 2018 was imparted. Brief sketch of the trainings is givenin page 159-160 of Annual Report-2018 (Annex- C).

(c) As a result of comprehensive post-election review exercise a setof recommendations has been proposed through Annual Report 2018.

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The Parliament is appropriate forum to make debate thereon and necessarylegislation. Additionally, in light of experience and feedback received in post-election review strategic pillars and goals have been set in the ECP third StrategicPlan 2019-2023.

(Annexures have been placed in the National Assembly Library)

3. *Mr. Azhar Qayyum Nahra:

Will the Minister for Communications be pleased to state:

(a) the name of the organization/department which is receiving tolltaxes across the country at present; and

(b) the heads under which the said expenditure is being incurred?

Minister for Communications (Mr. Murad Saeed): (a) The NHAAct 1991 (as amended in 2001) Chapter-III Clause-10(vii) authorizes NHAto;

“levy, collect or cause to be collected tolls on National Highways,Strategic Roads and such other roads as may be entrusted to it andbridges thereon.”

To execute the above powers NHA collects toll on its highways,motorways, bridges and tunnels either directly or through contractors who arehired through open competitive bidding process as per PPRA Rules.

Similarly, on some projects detailed below, NHA has entered intoConcession Agreements, whereby the tolls are collected by Concessionaireas per concession contracts;——————————————————————————————S r # Name of Project Co ncessionaire Period of Concession

——————————————————————————————1. Lahore-Islamabad M/s MORE (Motorway 20 Years

Motorway (M-2) Operations and Rehabilitation w.e.f 23-04-2014Engineering)

2 Karachi-Hyderabad M/s SCORE (Pvt) Ltd. 25 YearsMotorway (M-9) (Superhighway Construction w.e.f 10-03-2015

Operation & RehabilitationEngineering)

——————————————————————————————

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——————————————————————————————S r # Name of Project Co ncessionaire Period of Concession

——————————————————————————————3 Pattoki Toll M/s HOME (Pvt) Ltd. 10 Years

Plaza (N-5) (Habibabad Operation w.e.f 23-04-2014& ManagementEngineering Company)

4 Lak Pass Tunnel M/s IBEX Engineering 25 Years(N-40) (Pvt) Ltd w.e.f 15-05-2006

——————————————————————————————Note: Concessionaries are subsidiaries of Frontier Works Organization (FWO).

(b) As per Road Maintenance Account Rules 2003 , eligibleexpenditures from the Roads Maintenance Account shall only compriseexpenditures for the following, namely:—

(a) Maintenance Plan;

(b) rehabilitation of existing network assets of the National HighwayAuthority which have acceptable net present value and economicrates of return;

(c) geometric Improvements of the existing network assets of the NationalHighway Authority up to a maximum of six per cent of annualrevenues;

(d) highway safety improvements up to a maximum of five per cent ofannual revenues;

(e) establishment of new toll plazas with automated electronic toll andtraffic management system, access control, and weigh stations up toa maximum of two and half per cent of annual revenues; and

(f) Expenditure related to corridor management up to a maximum ofone and half per cent of annual revenues including related surveysand studies.

Eligible expenditures form the Roads Maintenance Account shall havethe following priority, namely:—

(a) First charge: Routine and periodic maintenance.(b) Second charge: Rehabilitation.

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(c) Third charge: Geometric Improvements and highwaysafety improvements.

(d) Fourth charge: New toll plazas and weigh stations.(e) Fifth charge: Corridor management.

4. *Mr. Abdul Qadir Patel:


(a) the details of incentives, including subsidizing electricity tariffand provision of uninterrupted electricity being given to theindustrial sector of the country;

(b) whether the Government has taken notice that such incentiveshave not been passed to the industries by the Karachi Electric(KE); if so, the reasons thereof; and

(c) what steps are being taken by the Government to pursue theKE to extend such incentives to the industries?

Reply not received.

5. *Moulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali:


(a) whether it is a fact that the road from Chakdra to Chitral beingmade one way;

(b) whether it is also a fact that the road from Chakdra-Chitral toGilgit is included in CPEC;

(c) if the answers to part (a) and (b) above are in affirmative, thereasons for non-completion one Way road despite spending hugeamount?

Minister for Communications (Mr. Murad Saeed): (a) It is to informthat N-45 is a single carriageway. No proposal for dualization of this road isunder consideration as yet. However, widening and improvement of 130 kmroad is under consideration through Korean Exim Bank financing.

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Currently in PSDP 2109-20 an allocation of Rs.100 million is available.The proposal includes three sections.

i. Chakdara-Timargarh (38.85 KM)

ii. Akhagram-Dir (43.39 KM)

iii. Kalkatak-Chitral (47.98 KM)

Procurement of Consultancy Services for Detailed Design forSection-III i.e. Kalkatak to Chitral (47.98 KM) is in final stage. Procurementof Section-I and Section-II will be taken up after finalization of Section-III.

(b) Yes, it is a fact that Gilgit to Chitral via Shandur (370 Km) isdeclared as a CPEC alternative route.

The PC-I for Chitral-Booni-Mastuj (153 Km) Road amounting toRs. 16.755 Billion has been approved by ECNEC on 07-03-2018. The PC-I for Gilgit-Shandur road (216 Km) has been submitted to NHA by Designconsultant for review of TWP-I and NHA Executive Board and subsequentlyfor approval of ECNEC.

(c) At present the traffic does not warrant for dualization of subjectroad. 6. *Dr. Mahreen Razzaq Bhutto:

Will the Minister for Foreign Affairs be pleased to state:

(a) the total number of Pakistanis imprisoned in Gulf countries atpresent; and

(b) the steps taken by the Government for their release?

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Makhdoom Shah MahmoodHussain Qureshi): (a) The total number of Pakistanis imprisoned in Gulfcountries at present is 6,738. The country-wise break-up is as follows:—

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——————————————————————————————Sr. No. Country No. of Prisoners——————————————————————————————

1. Saudi Arabia Riyadh 1,825Jeddah 1,359

2. U.A.E Abu-Dhabi & Al-Ain 935

Dubai & Northern 1,830Emirates

3. Kuwait 99

4. Oman 476

5. Qatar 96

6. Bahrain 118——————————————————————————————

Total 6,738——————————————————————————————

(b) The steps taken by our Missions for the welfare and release ofPakistan prisoners include the following:

• Provision of Consular access to prisoners, to extend all possibleassistance to them.

• Provision of basic necessity items to Pakistani prisoners and takingup their requests/complaints to jail authorities (for provision of basicfacilities in jail and medical check-up etc.).

• Provision of legal assistance in the form of payment of lawyer fee.

• Provision of translation facility to Pakistani prisoners, if required, incourts.

• Provision of financial assistance out of PCW&E Fund.

• Provision of ETDs and air tickets to prisoners on completion of theirsentence.

• Efforts for inclusion of Pakistani prisoners in Pardon lists on specialoccasions.

• Provision of support to families of prisoners through financial helpand forwarding mercy petitions to Rulers’ Court wherever applicable.

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7. *Engr. Sabir Hussain Kaim Khani:


(a) the designation-wise total number of individuals working in theGas companies operating in the village Patoyon, Tehsil JamNawaz, District Sanghar at present alongwith their domiciledetail;

(b) the total number of local people working in the said companies/organizations;

(c) the time from when the companies/organizations working therein along-with the development works carried out by theorganizations therein; and

(d) number of companies which have been working in Sangharalong-with total strength of employees of each?

Minister for Petroleum Division (Mr. Omar Ayub Khan): (a) UnitedEnergy Pakistan Limited (UEPL) is presently operating two blocks i.e., Khiproand Mirpurkhas, falling inter alia in Tehsil Jam Nawaz and Village Patoyun ofDistrict Sanghar. Requisite detail of employees obtained from aforesaid companyis attached at Annexure-I.

(b) A total of 125 locals from District Sanghar are working in UEPL atMirpurkhas. Block.

(c) UEPL is working in the aforesaid area as per following details:——————————————————————————————S. No. Block Grant Date Districts Remarks——————————————————————————————

1. Khipro 29/12/1999 Tehsil JamSanghar Nawaz,

2. MirpurKhas 29/12/1999 VillagePatoyun

——————————————————————————————Detail of development work carried out by UEPL in District Sanghar

is at Annexure-II.

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(d) Presently, OGDCL, PPL and UEPL are working in District Sanghar.Total Strength of employees of the aforesaid companies including locals in DistrictSanghar is as under:——————————————————————————————

Company Skilled (Company’s Strength——————————————————————————————

OGDCL 650PPL 391UEPL 308

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

8. *Jam Abdul Karim Bijar:

Will the Minister for Energy (Petroleum Division) be pleased to referto the Starred Question No.76 replied on 11-11-2019 and to state:

(a) is there any responsibility rest with Federal Government toprovide natural Gas to such areas, which lack such facility andreserve prudent funds itself for the provision of natural Gas tosuch areas; if so, the details thereof;

(b) the details of funds, which were reserved by the FederalGovernment to provide natural gas during the last five years;and

(c) what steps are being taken by the Government to formulate acomprehensive policy across the country to provide natural gasirrespective of political affiliation?

Minister for Petroleum Division (Mr. Omar Ayub Khan): (a) Cabinetvide its decision against case no. 53/03/2020 dated 28-01-2020 hasconstituted a committee for provision of gas to the areas which lack suchfacilities. The committee comprising of the following members:——————————————————————————————

1 Mr. Pervez Khattak, ChairmanMinister for Defence.

2 Mr. Omar Ayub Khan, MemberMinister for Energy.

——————————————————————————————

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——————————————————————————————3 Mr. Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Member

Minister for Aviation.

4 Mrs. Fahmida Mirza, MemberMinister for IPC

5 Mr. M. Khan Jamali Member——————————————————————————————

(b) During the tenure of previous Government the funds wereprovided through PSDP & SDGs program. However, present Governmenthas earmarked funds in SDG programme being administered by CabinetDivision. The funds for gas schemes are released by Cabinet Division onapproval of SAP Steering Committee approved by Federal Cabinet

(c) As stated in (a) and (b).

9. *Mr. Muhammad Afzal Khokhar:


(a) whether it is a fact that the test for the posts of SDOs in IESCO,LESCO and SEPCO was cancelled due to the leakage of questionpaper; if so, the action taken against those responsible;

(b) the steps being taken by the Government to prevent theoccurrence of such incidents in future;

(c) whether the Government intends to increase upper age limit ofthe candidates who have become over aged due to thecancellation of this test if so, the details thereof; if not, the reasonsthereof;

(d) whether the Government intends to reimburse the fee depositedby the candidates for this purpose; if so, the time by which thesame will be reimbursed; if not, the reasons therefor;

(e) whether it is also a fact that a portion of such fee is paid by thedistribution companies if so, the amount paid by each company under this head; and

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(f) whether the Government will ensure the return of the wholeamount from the test conducting agency due to whose faultthis test had to be cancelled; if so, the details thereof; if not, thereasons therefor?

Minister for Power Division (Mr. Omar Ayub Khan): (a) No, it isnot the fact that tests for the posts of SDOs in IESCO, LESCO and SEPCOwere cancelled due to leakage of paper, in fact the said tests were conductedfor IESCO. LESCO and SEPCO as per schedule. However, the test for thepost of SDO/ Junior Engineer, SEPCO, could not be held at Quetta Centerdue to protest.

However, upon receipt of various complaints/allegations related togrievances of the candidates regarding leakage of test papers independentinquiries have been initiated at IESCO, LESCO and SEPCO level.

(b) The Ministry of Energy (Power Division) ordered for ensuringsupervision of the complete recruitment process through MonitoringCommittees at DISCOs level.

(c) No such proposal is under consideration, as no test was cancelled.The postponed test for SEPCO at Quetta Center will be conducted based onthe final outcome of the inquiry.

(d) Since the matteris still under inquiry, decision to such extent, ifrequired, will be taken based on the final outcome of the inquiry.

(e) In compliance to the terms of the Cabinet Division’s O.M. No.53/l/2008-SP dated 01-08-2019, all DISCOS engaged the services of thetesting agencies as per the laid criteria i.e. fifty percent (50%) of the negotiatedfee to be charged from the candidates and remaining fifty percent (50%) to bepaid by the respective DISCO.

(f) Since the matter is still under inquiry, decision to such extent, ifrequired, action will be taken based on the final outcome of the inquiry.

10. *Dr. Aysha Ghaus Pasha:

Will the Minister for Energy (Petroleum Division) be pleased tostate detail of import of Petroleum products from January, 2019 to

22

December 2019 alongwith comparison of imports for the years2017-18 and 2018-19?

Minister for Petroleum Division (Mr. Omar Ayub Khan): (a) Requisiteinformation is given at Annex-I.

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11. *Ms. Nasiba Channa:

Will the Minister for Foreign Affairs be pleased to state the names ofthose African countries in which Pakistani Embassies are beingestablished in near future?

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Makhdoom Shah MahmoodHussain Qureshi): The Government has decided to establish Pakistan Missionsin the following African Countries:———————————————————————————————

S. No. Name of Country——————————————————————————————

1. Djibouti2. Rwanda3. Ivory Coast4. Ghana5. Uganda

——————————————————————————————12. *Mr. Muhammad Anwar:


(a) whether funds have been allocatted for the construction of IndusHighways from Ghandi Chock to Dera Ismail Khan; if so, theamount allocated thereof;

(b) the time by which this road will be completed; and

(c) whether NHA has taken the custody of westem bank of twolanes roads in Indus Highway for Ghandi Chock to Kale Wandahor not; if not, the reasons therefor?

Minister for Communications (Mr. Murad Saeed): (a)

i. N-55 Indus Highway is being improved from D.I Khan up to Lachiat different location under Post Flood Rehabilitation NationalHighway Project, Package-5, Lot-1 and Lot-2, Lot-1 Contract isexpected to be completed by April, 2020 and for Lot-2 completiondated is July, 2020. The Contract cost is as under:

Lot-I: Rs. 660.14 (Million)Lot-II: Rs. 583.55 (Million)

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ii. Two Nos. Periodic Maintenance estimates approved for amountingto Rs. 363.70 (Million) between KM 942 to Km 982 on ACW N-55 Shor Kot to Chunda is under process for design review.

iii. One No Periodic Maintenance estimate approved from Km 996 to1020 on Existing Carriageway amounting to Rs. 145.89 (Million) isunder design review.

iv. Two Nos Periodic Maintenance estimates approved on D.I. KhanBypass for amounting to Rs. 1034.6 Million, which are underprocurement stage.

(b) i. The date of completion for the above remaining Packages isApril, 2020 for Lot-I and July 2020 for Lot-II.

ii. The date of completion for the above remaining packages is 6 monthafter starting of the work.

(c) The Additional Carriageway of N-55 from Chunda (Km 982) toGandi Chowk (Km 1040+00) ICB-II (Western Side carriageway) includingPezu bypass, Titar Khel bypass is not handed over to NHA. NHA has not yettaken over Indus Highway from Ghandi Chowk to Kale Wandah in accordancewith NAB instructions and contractor is carrying out rectifications in this section.

13. *Syed Mehmood Shah:


(a) whether it is a fact that Federal Government intended last yearto lay down 36 kilometer alternative Gas pipeline betweenMastung and Kalat which will solve the problem of low pressureof Gas in Kalat and Mangchar;

(b) whether it is also a fact that no steps have been taken in thisregard so far; if so, the reasons thereof; and

(c) the time by which the work with respect to lay the aforesaidpipeline will be started?

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Minister for Petroleum Division (Mr. Omar Ayub Khan): (a) SSGCLhas reported that to meet the future gas requirements of the customers ofQuetta and its surrounding particularly in extreme winter the Company hasplanned to expand the pipeline capacity. For Mastung and Kalat 16" dia 6.3Kms pipeline was proposed to be laid from Quetta-Sibi road to Mastungroad with separate tapping from Transmission pipeline and Supply MeterStation.

(b) The Company further apprised that the scheme was proposedand designed in the year 2019-20 and requires Board of Directors and OGRAapprovals. This scheme is submitted to OGRA for approval in the budget offinancial year 2020-21.

(c) The Company reported that subject to the approvals, procurementprocess for material will be initiated and the lead time would be 180 days.This project is expected to be commissioned in March 2021.

14. *Ms. Romina Khurshid Alam:

Will the Minister for Energy (Petroleum Division) be pleased tostate imported LNG contribution to meet the overall shortfall ofnatural Gas in country in the winter of 2019-20?

Minister for Petroleum Division (Mr. Omar Ayub Khan): Duringwinter, gas consumption by domestic sector increases manifolds on accountof use of room and water heaters. Gas consumption by domestic sector(On SNGPL’s Network) during July 2019 was 408 MMCFD which increasedto the level of 990 in December 2019 and crossed 1100 MMCFD (approx)during January 2020. On the other hand, only 950 MMCFD indigenous gas iscurrently being received by SNGPL which cannot cater the winter demand ofonly domestic sector (after deducting losses and internal consumption). Thereis no addition of indigenous gas into Company’s network since last many years.Therefore, enhanced demand of high priority domestic sector is met throughdiversion of RLNG to domestic consumers. During December 2019,approximately 378 MMCFD RLNG was diverted to domestic sector to meetits demand.

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15. *Syed Hussain Tariq:


(a) the details of recommendations received from Law and JusticeCommission of Pakistan to reform criminal and Civil proceduresto ensure speedy and inexpensive justice to common man duringthe last five years;

(b) detail of those recommendations, which have been implemented;

(c) details of those recommendations, which are pending at presentalongwith justification of their pendency; and

(d) what steps are being taken to incorporate all suchrecommendations of the Commission in order to ensure speedyand inexpensive justice, as enshrined in the Constitution?

Minister for Law and Justice (Dr. Muhammad Farogh Naseem):(a) Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan made its last recommendation inJune 2014. During that year two recommendations were regarding the Codeof Criminal Procedure and one regarding Code of Civil Procedure to ensurespeedy and inexpensive justice to common man. Details of the report are atAnnexure-A.

(b) One recommendation on Code of Civil Procedure has beenimplemented (Annexure-B) .

(c) Two recommendations No. 134 & 135 are pending. Both therecommendations are regarding the Code of Criminal Procedure which isassigned business of the Ministry of Interior. Therefore, that Ministry mayprovide the justification of pendency.

(d) Business of the Federal Government as been distributed amongdifferent Ministries / Divisions under the Rules of Business, 1973. Therefore,the Ministry of Interior may inform about the steps being taken to incorporatethe recommendations of the Commission regarding Criminal Procedure. Asregards Civil Procedure the recommendation is implemented.


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16. *Malik Karamat Ali Khokhar:


(a) whether it is a fact that domestic consumers of Lahore havebeen facing great difficulties of low to none pressure of thenatural Gas in this winter seasons;

(b) if so, whether the authorities concerned have taken notice ofsuch low to none pressure of natural gas in Lahore; if so, thedetails thereof; and

(c) what steps are being taken by the authorities concerned toimprove the pressure of natural gas in Lahore?

Minister for Petroleum Division (Mr. Omar Ayub Khan): (a) SNGPLhas reported that the Company endeavors to maintain sufficient gas pressureto its valued customers. However, demand and supply gap of indigenous gasis being observed particularly during winter season at peak-hours, within theareas falling at the tail-end of the gas distribution network.

(b & (c) In order to bridge this ever-increasing gap, various strategiesincluding system augmentation of distribution network / operational phasesand re-drilling of off take points i.e. clearance of blockages due to carbon andother debris in the network, are being adopted by the Company. Particularlyfor low-pressure issues in Lahore, the Company has devised a comprehensiveaugmentation plan which includes laying of transmission lines, installation ofnew SMSs and laying of supply mains within Lahore city is in process ofimplementation.

In addition to the above, RLNG is also being injected to augment gassupplies for the domestic sector to mitigate the gap between demand andsupply. Moreover, emergency teams have been formulated in the regions toaddress the low pressure complaints of the consumers.

17. *Sheikh Rohale Asghar:


(a) whether it is a fact that Hazara Motorway being constructed upto the Chinese border;

(b) if so, the time by which it will be completed?

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Minister for Communications (Mr. Murad Saeed): (a) Hazaramotorway is 59.1 km long starting from Burhan and ends at Havelian. Anotherportion of 39 KM of Motorway has been constructed from Havelian toMansehra. After Mansehra its KKH road. There is no proposal to constructMotorway till China border.

(b) Nil.

18. *Rana Iradat Sharif Khan:


(a) the number of specialized Oil and Gas Lawyers engaged by theFederal Government and its attached companies onretainerships;

(b) the qualifications and compensation packages of those lawyers;and

(c) the process adopted for selection of above mentioned lawyers?

Minister for Petroleum Division (Mr. Omar Ayub Khan): (a)

1. Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan (HDIP)Nil

2. Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL)OGDCL has hired services of M/o Khokhar Law Chambers;Islamabad since 14th March, 1998.

3. Government Holdings (Private) Limited (GHPL)

i. Arif and Associatesii. RIAA Barker Gillette Gilletteiii. Rehman & Associatesiv. Amhurst Brownv. A.Z.Zaman Advocates & Legal Consultants

4. Inter State Gas Systems (Pvt.) Limited (ISGSL)Nil

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5. Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL)PPL has not engaged any lawyer on retainership basis.

6. Pakistan LNG Terminals Limited (PLTL)Pakistan LNG Terminals Limited (PLTL) has not engaged any lawyeron retainership basis. Services of law firms are procured to obtainadvice on legal matters on as and when required basis.

7. Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL)No specialized oil & Gas lawyers engaged by SNGPL on retainershipbasis. However, SNGPL has two numbers of firms as their legaladvisor on retainership basis, which are as follows:

i. M/s. Surridege & Beechenoii. M/s. Salim Baig & Associates

8. Pakistan State Oil Company Limited (PSOCL)PSO has never engaged any specialized Oil & Gas Lawyers on thebasis of monthly retainership fee.

9. Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL)There are two retainer Counsels with SSGCL /LS department:

i. M/s Iqbal & Asim Advocatesii. Chaudhry Muhammad Yaseen Advocate

10. Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL)Nil

11. Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP)Nil

12. Saindak Metals Limited (SML)the SML Board of Directors after fulfilling all the formalities hasengaged one Advocate Supreme Court of Pakistan as legal Advisoron retainership

(b) 1. Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL)The services of M/o Khokhar Law Chambers, Islamabad has beenhired on a monthly retainership fee of Rs. 22,000/- (inclusive of tax).

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2. Government Holdings (Private) Holdings——————————————————————————————

S# Name of Law Firms Advocate Qualification——————————————————————————————

1. Mr. Rizwan ur Rehman Khan LL.B2. Mr. Hamid Jalal LL.B3. Mr. Asim Riaz Awan LL.B4. Mr. Talha Javed LL.B5. Mr. Muhammad Arif LL.M (Petroleum Law & Policy)6. Barrister Yousaf Khosa BPP, London, BVC7. Mr. Javaid Akhtar Advocate of the High Courts of

Pakistan - Bachelor of Laws8. Mr. Khaliq uz Zaman Khan Bar Finals Examination, London

——————————————————————————————i. These layers have been engaged without any retainership fee or an,

minimum financial commitment;

ii. Appointment has been made for an initial term of three years, whichtern is further extendable to three years.

iii. The services of these lawyers will be engaged on as and when requiredbasis and by holding a selective bidding process amongst the abovesaid pre-qualified firms/lawyers and work assignment may beawarded on the basis of lowest financial quotation.

3. Pakistan LNG Terminals Limited (PLTL)Panel of law firms was prequalified on the basis of well define criteria.

4. Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL)Detail regarding retainership is as under:

——————————————————————————————S# Name of Law Firm / Advocate Retainership Fee

——————————————————————————————1. M/s. Surridege & Beecheno Rs. 14,440/- per annum2. M/s. Salim Baig & Associates Rs. 25,000/- per month

——————————————————————————————5. Pakistan State Oil Company Limited (PSOCL)

In order to comply with the requirements of the Companies(Appointment of Legal Advisers) Act, 1974, M/s Orr. Dignam&Co. have been appointed as statutory legal advisor of PSO againstmonthly retainership fee of Rs. 15,000/-only.

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6. Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL)The basis qualification for a lawyer to hold SSGC’s brief are asunder:

i. Copy of valid CNIC;ii. Copy of valid Professional Tax Certificate;iii. Copy of the certificate of membership of the concerned Bar

Counciliv. Copy of the certificate of membership of the concerned Bar

Association;v. Copy of law degree(s)i. In case referral of an Advocate by any departmental head of

SSGC, such Advocate will be required to present a‘Recommendation Letter’ signed by such departmental head

ii. Undertaking on stamp paper of Rs.200/- stating interalia thathe/ she wil not be appearing in any case which has been filedagainst SSGC and that he/ she does not have any conflict ofinterest.

The compensation package, as approved by the Management, is asunder:

——————————————————————————————S. No. Court / Tribunal Professional Miscellaneous Total

Charges Expenses

——————————————————————————————1. FST / Labor Court / Rs. 50,000/ 10,000/ Rs. 60,000/

NIRC

2. Civil Courts Rs. 25,000/ Rs. 5000/ Rs. 30,000/

3. District Judge Rs. 30,000/ Rs. 5000/ Rs.35,000/

4. Constitutional Petition Rs. 40,000/ Rs. 5000/ Rs.45,000/

5. Suit in High Court Rs. 45,000/ Rs. 5000/ Rs. 50,000/

6. High Court Appeal Rs. 35,000/ Rs. 5000/ Rs. 40,000/

7. Supreme Court Nil Nil To be negotiated

on case to case basis

——————————————————————————————In high profile and sensitive cases, the professional fee is negotiated

according to the quantum of SSGC’s stake. It is also categorically mentionedtha with the promulgation of Gas Theft Act 2016 which gives exclusivejurisdiction to District Judges and the fee quote is negotiated in some cases.

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It is respectfully submitted that the Public Accounts Committee’recommendations dated 15-05-2014 on “Conflict of Financial Powers of Boardof Directors in different. Public Sector Companies with the Powers of Ministryof Finance”, gives ample power to the Management / Board of Directors ofCompanies to settle professional fee of lawyers within the guidelines provideunder the Public Sectors Companies Corporate Sector Corporate GovernanceRules 2013.

7. Saindak Metals Limited (SML)Amounting to Rs. 50,000 - per month and Qualification is B.A/LLB

(c) 1. Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL)The appointment of M/s Khokhar Law Chambers, Islamabad wasmade in compliance with the Companies Act, 1974 (Appointmentof Legal Advisors). The Appointment was made after obtaining theapproval of OGDCL’s Board of Directors.

2. Government Holdings (Private) HoldingsPPRA Procurement of Consultancy Services Regulation, 2010.

3. Pakistan LNG Terminals Limited (PLTL)PLTL invited bids from the law firms fulfilling criteria and short listedthe firms in a PPRA compliant procedures.

4. Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL)Board of Directors has approved the appointment of M/s. Surridge& Beecheno in 1963 as Legal Advisor and M/s. Salim Baig &Associates are appointed as Legal Advisor in the year 2003.

5. Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL)The GM (Legal Services) and DGM (Litigation) are constantly inthe process of identifying talented Advocates that can pursue efficientand effective litigation or behalf of SSGC. However, the departmentalheads and the Management of SSGC can also refer Advocates tothe Legal Services department through ‘Referral Letters’. Uponidentification/ referral, the DGM (Litigation)

After consultation with GM (Legal Services) will invite applicationsof such Advocates to be included in the panel list of lawyers of

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SSGC and/ or representation of SSGC in a particular suit/petition/ appeal etc. on a one-time basis only.

The following shall be the prerequisites /qualification for an Advocateto be considered for short listing by the legal department of SSGC:

i. For representation before Subordinate Courts, the Advocateshould be enrolled as an Advocate of the Subordinate Courtsfor the last 2 years and should be a member of the BarAssociation with substantive experience in the relevant field;

ii. For representation before High Court, the Advocate should beenrolled as an Advocate of the High Court for the last 5 yearsand should be a member of the High Court Bar Associationwith substantive experience in the relevant field;

iii. In order to represent SSGC in the Supreme Court of Pakistan,the Advocate should be enrolled as an Advocate of the SupremeCourt and should be a member of the Supreme Court BarAssociation with substantive experience in the relevant field;

iv. The Advocate should have a proper office, a dedicated landline,facsimile number and cell phone number;

If the Advocate meets the aforementioned criteria, then he/ she willhave to submit the following to the legal department of SSGC;

i. Copy of valid CNIC;

ii. Copy of valid Professional Tax Certificate;

iii. Copy of the certificate of membership of the concernedBar Council

iv. Copy of the certificate of membership of the concernedBar Association;

v. Copy of law degree(s)

vi. In case referral of an Advocate by any departmental head ofSSGC, such Advocate will be required to present a‘Recommendation Letter’ signed by such departmental head.

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vii. Undertaking on stamp paper of Rs.200/- stating interalia thathe/ she wil not be appearing in any case which has been filedagainst SSGC and that he/ she does not have any conflict ofinterest.

viii. The DGM (Litigation), GM (Legal) and DMD (CS) may alsohold a face to face meeting with the Advocate in order to get abetter understanding of the Advocate’s skill sets and experience.

ix. Notwithstanding anything contained hereinabove, keeping inview the suitability of the candidate as may be required on acase to case basis, the MD of SSGC upon the recommendationsof DGM (Litigation), GM (Lega Services) and DMD(Corporate Services) at his/ her sole discretion, may waive anyof the requirements set out above save for pre requisites requiredunder law.

x. Once all the conditions mentioned above have been satisfiedby an Advocate, the professional charges will be taken intoconsideration and the Advocate will finally be short-listed bythe Legal department Subsequently, the approval of the MD ofSSGC shall be solicited vide and approval note.

xi. Based on the approval of the MD of SSGC, the MIS Officerwill be instructed to add the name of the lawyer,/ firm in the listof the lawyers of SSGC. The said list will be updated on aquarterly basis as per the instructions of DGM (Litigation). It ispertinent to mention here that Advocate/ lawyer will be listedwith the approval of the MD.

Furthermore, approval of professional fee/ charges uptoRs.150,000/- will be as per financial powers of DMD (CS) and approval ofprofessional fee/ charges above Rs.150,000/- will be as per the financialpowers of MD.

It is clarified that the reply to your query b & c, other than fee schedule/compensation package, is an extract of SOP for engaging Counsels, asdeveloped by KPMG and approved by Management of SSGCL.

19. *Ms. Nafeesa Inayatullah Khan Khattak:

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

35

(a) the names and province-wise details of those Colleges/Universities Degrees, Teaching Science and TechnologyEducation, whose Degrees were declared fake/unaccredited byPakistan Engineering Council (PEC) since 2013 till to date;and

(b) the details of those Institutes/Colleges/DAIs whose Degrees wereduly accredited/registered by PEC during the said period?

Minister for Science and Technology (Mr. Fawad Ahmed): (a) Thenames and province-wise details of those Colleges/ Universities Degrees,Teaching Science and Technology Education, whose Degrees were declaredfake/ unaccredited by Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) since 2013 till todate may be seen at (Annex-I).

(b) The detail of Engineering programs accredited/ registered by PECsince 2013 till to date may be seen at (Annex-II).


20. *Ms. Munawara Bibi Baloch:


(a) whether it is a fact that Quetta-Sibi main road is in dilapidatedcondition and number of accidents is increasing day-by-daythereon; and

(b) the time by which it will be repaired and extension of three laneswould be made by the Government?

Minister for Communications (Mr. Murad Saeed): (a) Most of theroad section from Quetta - Sibi are in good condition, however due to recentheavy snow and rainfall some sections were damaged.

(b) 1. The flood damaged section have already been rectified andthe Patch work on main carriageway will be completed by 30th March, 2020through Routine & Periodic Maintenance contracts in which the dilapidatedsections of N-65 Highway will be rehabilitated.

2. The current Traffic Volume on N-65 does not qualify for extensionto Three lanes.

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21. *Ms. Shazia Marri:

Will the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs be pleased to state:

(a) whether Government and Election Commission of Pakistanhave notice of less number of women voters despite the factthat they are 54% of total population of the country;

(b) if so, it is tantamount to failure of the Government and the ECPto get them registered in voters lists;

(c) if so, what steps are being taken by the Government and ECPto make a comprehensive strategy to make sure the registrationof every eligible woman in voters’ lists alongwith stage-wiseplan of Government and ECP in this regard?

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs (Mr. Muhammad Azam KhanSawati): (a) According to the provisional report of 6 population census, womenconstitute 48.76% of the total population in Pakistan and their participation asvoters and candidates is essential in electoral process. The comparison ofPopulation Census – 2017 and Registered Voters in General Elections – 2018may be seen at Annexure-A.

Under Section 47 of the Elections Act, 2017 whereby the Commissionshall take special measures for enrolment of women voters where the variation inthe disaggregated data of registered voters is more than ten percent in aconstituency. Political parties were asked by the Hon’ble Commission throughwritten correspondence (attached as “C”) to support ECP’s women NIC andvoter registration campaign in their respective areas.Analysis of Electoral Rollswas carried out at Election Commission which reflected a gap between male andfemale registered voters and reason thereof was because of the gap between menand women NIC registration with NADRA. ECP strategized to mitigate andminimize the gender gap in Electoral Rolls by taking following initiatives:

a. ECP initiated NIC/ voter registration campaign in coordination withNADRA & Civil Society in 101 districts;

b. Consultative meetings with Civil Society Organizations asimplementing partners;

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c. Gender and Disability Electoral Working Group asked to hold massawareness raising and mobilization campaigns at grassroots level;

d. District Voter Education Committee (DVEC) coordinated withstakeholders for mobilization of local communities specially women,PWDs, transgender and minorities for voter registration and womenvoter turnout.

(b) ECP commenced Women’s NIC and Voter Registration Campaignin 2017 and registered 4.3 million women in 7 months. The said campaign is inPhase-III reaching the target of registering 5 million women by December, 2019.Unregistered women were facilitated, bringing them to NADRA RegistrationCenters (NRCs) and Mobile Registration Vans (MRVs) to register their NICs/vote. The detail of region-wise districts that were covered during the campaignare tabulated hereunder;——————————————————————————————

Sr. Region Number of Names of DistrictsNo. Districts

——————————————————————————————1. Khyber 33 Abbotabad, North Waziristan, Bajaur, South

Pakhtunkhwa Waziristan, Khyber, Mohmand, Kurram,Orakzai, Tor Ghar, Batagram, Buner,Charsada, Chitral, Haripur, Karak, Kohat,Kohistan, LakkiMarwat, Malakand, Shangla,Swabi, Tank, Dera Ismail Khan, Hangu, Mardan,Nowshera, Swat, Peshawar, Kohat, Banu,Mansehra, Upper Dir and Lower Dir.

2. ICT 1 Islamabad.

3. Punjab 32 Dera Ghazi Khan, Bakhar, Hafizabad, Jhang,Kasur, Khanewal, Layyah, Lodhran, MandiBahauddin, Muzaffargarh, Nankana Sahib,Okara, Pakpattan, Sahiwal, Sargodha,Sheikhupura, Sialkot, Vehari, Bahawalpur,Bahawalnagar, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Lahore,Narowal, Rahim Yar Khan, Rajanpur and TobaTek Singh, Attock, Khushab, Rawalpindi,Mianwali, Multan.

4. Sindh 15 Dadu, Ghotki, Hyderabad, Kashmore, Khairpur,Korangi, Malir, Naushero Feroz, Sukkur,Tharparkar, Kamber Shahdadkot, KarachiCentral and Karachi South, Tandu MuhammadKhan and Umerkot.

——————————————————————————————

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——————————————————————————————Sr. Region Number of Names of DistrictsNo. Districts

——————————————————————————————5. Balochistan 20 Awaran, Chagai, Kharan, Ziarat,Jhalmagsi,

Panjgur, Sherani, Harani, Washuk, Musakhel,Gwadar, Kech, Kachi, Lasbela, Loralai,Nasirabad, Nushki, Zhob, Killa Abdullah andQuetta

——————————————————————————————Overall 101 101 Districts

——————————————————————————————ECP intends continuing the campaign to reduce the gender gap.

(c) GENDER AND DISABILITY ELECTORAL WORKINGGROUP (GDEWG)

ECP established a Disability Electoral Working Group (GDEWG) in 2016in Islamabad and later in all provincial capitals to decrease barriers to electoralparticipation of women, persons with disabilities (PWDs) and other socially excludedgroups. Around 100 civil society organizations are members of this group inIslamabad as well as in all four provinces. The group works on development andutilization of civic and voter education materials during awareness raising campaignto increase women voters’ registration and voter turnout. Through this Group,debates and declamations are held in different schools, colleges and universities.Awareness raising walks and street theatres are also held in regional languages,highlighting the importance of women NIC and voter registration.

Some of the major achievements of ECP through its GDEWG are asfollows:

(a) Ensured free of cost NIC for first time registrant;(b) Saturdays allotted as additional day for women only registration during

ECP’s campaign;(c) Dedicated desk for the first time women registrants;(d) Additional MRVs deployed for women only registration during ECP’s

NIC/Voter Registration Campaign;(e) Female staff at NADRA registration centers increased during ECP

campaign; and(f) Voter registration and awareness raising messages run on electronic

media.

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In addition to the above, with the vision to register all eligible persons asvoters and no one to be disenfranchised, the ECP is regularly updating electoralrolls under Section 25 of the Elections Act, 2017, by enrolling new NIC holdersas voters. A comparative statement containing gender wise increase of voterssince General Elections-2018 is as under:——————————————————————————————

Male Female Eunuch TotalTransgender

——————————————————————————————Registered Voters at thetime of General Elections 59,222,927 46,730,569 1913 105,955,4092018

Latest Statistics of 62,555,131 49,833,318 2,489 112,390,938Registered Voters

Increase after General 3,332,204 3,102,749 576 6,435,529Elections 2018

——————————————————————————————The province and gender wise breakup of Registered Voters may be seen

at Annexure-B.

It is pertinent to mention here that ECP considers registration of all thewomen currently not registered as voters very important and accordinglyrecommended in its Annual Report -2018 the following:

“ii. Federal Government may issue direction to NADRA for increasingregistration of women, persons with disabilities, minorities and transgenderpersons by removing existing challenges and barriers”


22. *Ms. Naz Baloch:

Will the Minister for Energy (Petroleum Division) be pleased to statehow much and many times the price of Gas increased for GeneralIndustry and Cement and Fertilizer Industries in last one year?

Minister for Petroleum Division (Mr. Omar Ayub Khan): (a) Theprice of gas increased for General Industry, Cement and / Fertilizer Industries inlast one year one time w.e.f. 01-07-2019 as per the table below:

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——————————————————————————————Sector Previous Current

Rs/MMBTU Rs/MMBTUw.e.f. 27-09-2018 w.e.f. 01-07-2019

——————————————————————————————General Industry 780 1,021Cement 975 1,277Fertilizer-Feed (Old) 185 300Fertilizer (New) Us $ 0.70 Us $ 0.70Fertilizer -Fuel 780 1,021

——————————————————————————————23. *Ch. Muhammad Hamid Hameed:

Will the Minister for Energy (Petroleum Division) be pleased to statethe legal procedure to install those Gas meters which are removeddue to non-payment whether it is necessary to make a survey of thesaid House as the service line is already laid there; if so, the procedureof it alongwith detail thereof?

Minister for Petroleum Division (Mr. Omar Ayub Khan): (a) SNGPLhas reported that if a consumer is disconnected due to default, Company’sregional office arranges removal of Company’s installations as soon as possible.This is necessary to avoid any possibility of gas pilferage, to ensure safety andreconciliation of material. After clearance of arrears, a site visit is essentiallycarried out to ascertain the status of service line as well as other allied material.

SSGCL has reported that as per Consumer Service Manual of OGRA,SSGCL conducts survey of those domestic and low commercial customercases, which are disconnected 1 year or more in order to confirm that theproper houseline exists or not in order to maintain safety and security of thecustomer(s) and area. This survey also helps the Company to ascertain thecondition of houseline and gas equipment installed.

The Company further apprised that in case, if the gas supply is restoredwithout survey it is expected that hazards / accident due to leakage can occur.

24. *Ms. Shahida Rehmani:

Will the Minister for Energy (Power Division) be pleased to state thepercentage increase in the tariff of electricity as compare to the

41

neighbouring countries during the present regime and the percentageincrease in Pakistan alongwith detail?

Reply not received.

25. *Mr. Murtaza Javed Abbasi:

Will the Minister for Energy (Petroleum Division) be pleased to referto Starred Question No.83 replied on 10-2-2020 and to state:

(a) criteria to hire AF Ferguson and Company CharteredAccountants for conducting a third party audit of excessivebilling of natural Gas alongwith amount which had been paidto the company for such audit;

(b) whether bids were called to hire audit companies to award suchaudit; if so, the details thereof; if not, the reasons thereof;

(c) if bids were called details of companies, participated in thebidding process and details of companies, which weredisqualified alongwith reasons thereof; and

(d) whether any present or former beneficiary of the aforesaid firmholds any post in any department of Government in recent times;if so, the details thereof?

Minister for Petroleum Division (Mr. Omar Ayub Khan): (a) CabinetCommittee on Energy (CCOE) in its meeting held on 06-02-2019 had directed toconduct audit of SNGPL through External Auditors with reference to slab wisegas consumption and gas charges during the month of October 2018 to December2018 including verification of the average billing of the consumers to identify anyunusual variations. The audit was to conduct analysis whether there are anydiscrepancies in the consumption and billing data of the Company and to submitthe findings of the audit to CCOE within 10 days. SNGPL apprised thatM/s A.F Ferguson & Co. Chartered Accountants were already appointed asstatutory (External) Auditors of the Company for FY 2017-18 by shareholders ofthe Company. An Amount of Rs 4,335,902 was paid to External Auditors (M/sA.F. Ferguson & Co Chartered Accountants) for conducting the third party auditof excessive gas billing.

42

(b) The Company was directed to conduct an audit from the ExternalAuditor of SNGPL and to submit the findings of the audit to the Cabinet Committeeon Energy within 10 days.

(c) As no bids were called due to the reason mentioned in point (b) thequestion of disqualification is irrelevant.

(d) The Company was not aware of the fact that any beneficiary ofM/s A.F. Fergsuon was holding any office in the Government at that time. Theaudit was conducted on 15-02-2019 and the audit report was submitted on25-03-2019.

26. *Mr. Ali Gohar Khan:


(a) whether the construction of Tandlianwala Inter-change Road/Project at Lahore to Abdul Hakeem Motorway, is underconsideration; and

(b) the time by which work will be started at the said project?

Minister for Communications (Mr. Murad Saeed): (a) There is noproposal under consideration for construction of Tandlianwala Interchange onM-3 Lahore Abdul Hakeem Motorway. The traffic of Tandlianwala city is beingfacilitated by existing Samandri Interchange at M-3 (Lahore-Abdul HakeemMotorway located at RD 1016+400 for Gojra samandri-Tandlianwala OkaraProvincial Road.

(b) Nil.

27. *Syed Javed Husnain

Will the Minister for Communications be pleased to state whetherthe Ministry intends to construct a tunnel on Babusar Top; if so, thetime by which construction of the said tunnel is to be completedalongwith the expected cost thereof?

Minister for Communications (Mr. Murad Saeed): National HighwayAuthority has included feasibility study for Construction of Babusar Tunnel inthe proposed PSDP 2020-2021. Further decision will be taken after completionof feasibility study.

43

28. *Ms. Shahida Rehmani:


(a) the number of Pakistani imprisoned in UAE during the last threemonths alongwith the efforts being taken by the Government inthis regard for their release;

(b) the total number of cases shown/pending in Fajeera State ofUAE; and

(c) the time/period by which they will be released?

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Makhdoom Shah Mahmood HussainQureshi): (a) As per usual practice in UAE, local authorities do not share dataregarding arrest and detention on monthly basis. However, according to Jailauthorities, the total number of Pakistani prisoners, imprisoned in UAE is 2,765(935 in jails of Abu Dhabi and Al-Ain region, whereas 1,830 imprisoned inDubai and Northern Emirates). The efforts made by our Missions in Abu Dhabiand Dubai are as follows:

• Consular access to prisoners to extend all possible assistance.

• Provision of legal assistance in form of lawyer fee.

• Provision of air tickets to prisoners on completion of sentences.

• Provision of financial assistance out of Pakistan Community Welfare& Education (PCW&E) Fund.

• Efforts for inclusion of Pakistani prisoners in Pardon lists on specialoccasions.

• Provision of support to families of prisoners through financial helpand forwarding mercy petitions to Rulers’ Court wherever applicable.

(b) & (c) The total number of cases of Pakistani shown/pending inFujairah is 32. Each prisoner has a different date of release depending uponthe nature of crime committed and payment of fine (as some of them areunder trial).

44

As per available data provided by the local authorities four Pakistaninationals are likely to be released in 2021, 2022 and 2023 after completingtheir sentences and payment of fine amounting 1000 AED.

29. *Mr. Muhammad Aslam Khan:


(a) the number of cases of violation of human rights registered withthe Ministry of Human Rights during the last five years withprovince-wise break-up indicating also the action in those cases;and

(b) the steps taken by the Government so far to protect human rightsin the country?

Minister for Human Rights (Dr. Shireen M. Mazari): (a) The casesof Human Rights violations are registered with concerned provincial/regionalpolice departments. However, there are two mechanisms through which theMinistry of Human Rights receives complaints. These two institutions areHelpline for Legal Advice on Human Rights violations and National Commissionfor Human Rights.

I. HELPLINE (1099)

Helpline (1099) has received a total of 946641 calls, since Feb,2016 after the establishment of MIS database, out of which 41232cases were related to human rights violations. The helpline’s primarywork is to provide legal advice and referral services or to connectpeople to the relevant service provider. Most of the cases were relatedto Women Rights and governance issues. Below is the detail of thecases that are received by the Helpline 1099.

CALLS/ CASES REGISTERED WITH HELPLINE

• Total calls received = 946641

• “Total services provided = 41232

• Legal Advice = 8971

45

Legal advice and Instant Referrals to Relevant Departments throughCalls = 31318

• Legal Advice provided to Visitors, applications, fax, E-mails= 943——————————————————————————————

Year 2016 2017 2018 2019 Total

——————————————————————————————

Punjab 1364 1105 14843 5866 23178

KPK 1150 2573 4508 1767 9998

Sindh 604 573 1947 1690 4814

Balochistan 121 13 39 91 264

ICT 304 293 1315 828 2740

FATA 2 2 9 5 18

GB 2 1 9 8 20

AJK 67 11 40 82 200

——————————————————————————————Total 3614 4571 22710 10337 41232

——————————————————————————————II. NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

(NCHR)

The NCHR receives complaints of human rights violations and alsotakes suo moto notices. The detail of human rights violations received by NCHRand suo moto notices taken by the NCHR during the last five years is givenbelow in the table:———————————————————————————————Category ICT Punjab Sindh KPK Balochistan FATA G B UN/ Total

FromAbroad

——————————————————————————————Complaints 365 2616 687 364 49 23 5 24 4133

Suo moto 76 327 75 119 44 6 - 5 652

(Total) 441 2943 762 483 93 29 5 29 4785Complaints& suo motoAction

——————————————————————————————

46

Status of Complaints, Petitions & Suo motu Notices

——————————————————————————————In hearing 76 1574 51 47 29 2 - 5 1784

——————————————————————————————Under 124 824 382 260 45 22 1 17 1675Investigationat InitialStagesDisposed of 242 545 328 176 19 5 4 7 1326

——————————————————————————————(Total) 442 2949 761 483 39 29 5 29 4785

——————————————————————————————(b) The Government of Pakistan is committed to ensure Human Rights

of all citizens as envisaged under the Constitution as well as internationalcommitments by adopting all possible measures to ensure protection andpromotion of such rights, i.e. rights of women, children, persons with disabilitiesand minorities, etc. The Ministry of Human Rights has taken various initiativesin order to ensure the protection and promotion of the Human Rights. Theseincludes;

1. Legislative initiatives.

i. National Commission on the Rights of the Child Act, 2017:This Act prescribes the functioning and powers of theCommission entrusted with the task of protection of rights ofchildren.

ii. The National Commission on the Status of Women(Amendment) Act, 2018: Under this amended Act the newchairperson of NCSW would be elected within 30 days afterthe retirement of the incumbent head. This law provides a timeframe for the appointment of the chairperson in order to makethe commission more effective.

iii. The Women in Distress and Detention Fund (Amendment)Act, 2018:Promulgated to operationalize the Fund. This Actwas passed originally in 1996, but unfortunately not a singlemeeting could be held to utilize this Fund during the last 22years.

iv. The ICT Child Protection Act, 2018: It aims to protectchildren from violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect in theIslamabad Capital Territory. It envisages establishment of a

47

‘Child Protection Advisor Board’ and ‘Child ProtectionInstitutions’ for protection of children.

v. The Juvenile Justice System Act, 2018: It aims to providea criminal justice system for juveniles with a view to ensuretheir rehabilitation and reformation through institutional services.

2. Legislative initiatives under process:

Following bills prepared by the Ministry of Human Rights have beenforwarded to Law &Justice Division for further action for introductionin the parliament:

i. ICT Rights of Persons with Disability Bill, 2018: The billon protecting the rights of the disabled persons defines the scopeof rights of disabled persons and also gives administrativemechanism to ensure the protection of the rights of disabledpeople by proposing creation of a National Council for theRehabilitation of Disabled Persons.

ii. Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention & Punishment)Bill, 2018: Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention &Punishment) Bill, 2018 comprehensively defines the term tortureand also provides procedure for investigation, trial of torturerelated cases and prescribes strict punishment as well.

iii. Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Bill, 2018: Prohibitionof Corporal Punishment Bill. 2018 after defining the termcorporal punishment describes the scope of application of thislegislation which includes both public and private educationalinstitutions and prescribes punishment for the crime of corporalpunishment of up to one year of imprisonment or fine of up to100,000 rupees or both.

iv. The Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Bill, 2019:has been drafted which provides for protection of missing andabducted children that includes raising alert, responding andrecovering of missing and abducted children.

48

v. Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill, 2019at ICT: This has been finalized by MoHR. The Bill was sent tothe Law Division on 26th August, 2019 for vetting. Afterconsultation with the Senior Legislative Advisor (on 3 Oct,2019), the revised draft has been shared with Law Division forvetting.

3. Research Studies on Legal Framework of Human Rights inPakistan: In order to review and identify legal gaps for harmonizationof legislation in line with the Constitution of Pakistan, Internationalhuman rights obligations, subordinate legislations and to providerecommendations to be enacted/amendments in the PPC and CrPC;the Ministry of Human Rightscommissioned a comprehensiveresearch study under the Action Plan for Human Rights. The researchstudy has been completed and would be launched on the occasionof International Human Rights Day to share the findings/recommendations of the research. The scope and enforcement ofhuman rights have been further elaborated along with analysis ofcore issues, laws and judicial judgments of each right.

i. Research Study on Men’s Perception: on Gender BasedViolence to design Men Engage Model is completed.

ii. Protection of Women Rights and Elimination of GenderBased Violence.

iii. Formulation of National Policy guidelines on GenderBased Violence: MoHR has formulated National PolicyGuidelines on Gender Based Violence through a consultativemeeting with Federal, Provincial stakeholders.

iv. Enforcement of Women’s Property Rights Ordinance 2019aims to address the grievances of women over inherited assets.Under this law, disputes revolving around property inheritedby women and the right of inheritance would be resolved onexpedited basis.

v. Minimum Quality Care Standards for Child CareInstitutions: are being prepared. It will ensure that the servicesprovided by the Child Care Institutions are in accordance with

49

the prescribed minimum standards. Consultative meeting onsaid protocol has been held and will be finalized soon.

vi. Interagency Protocol on Child Abuse: for Child Abuse atICT level is under process to enhance coordination amongvarious child protection institutes at ICT level for appropriatereferral of cases of child abuse. A consultation of the relevantstakeholders has been held in August, 2019.

vii. Minister for Human Rights led awareness campaign ofMinistry of Human Rights on child abuse: by visiting invarious schools at ICT level. Recently, she has visited twoschools on 2nd and 3rd October, 2019 wherein she talkedwith children, teachers and parents on the issue of child abuseand protection.

viii. A media campaign: has been launched for awareness of generalmasses on the issue of child abuse including child protection. In thisregard, the Ministry of Human Rights has telecasted videomessages on child abuse on public and private channels.

ix. The Ministry of Human Rights has celebrated theInternational Day of the Girl Child: on 11th October, 2019.During the event, truck art was used for advocacy andawareness on rights and protection of the girl child. Thecelebration of the day was a source of encouragement for thegirl child and re-affirming our commitment under the Constitutionof Pakistan and international obligations.

4. Public Awareness Campaigns on Human Rights: campaignsare being launched at national level for promotion & protectionof human rights.

i. Awareness on prevention of Child abuse: Once Schoolsreopen, a team of Ministry of Human Rights will be visitingschools in ICT to talk to parents, teachers and students on theissue of child abuse.

ii. Awareness campaign on success stories of the youthleaders: in various fields of life has been launched for inspirationof other youths.

50

iii. Sensitization of Police officials: Ministry of Human Rights isinitiating a programme to sensitize police in ICT on child abuseand to support the victims.

iv. A media campaign has been launched for awareness onthe issue of child abuse: on 4th July, 2019. In this regard, theMinistry of Human Rights has developed video messages onchild abuse and requested PEMRA to telecast these onelectronic media.

v. Public Awareness Campaigns to highlight the issue of women’sright in inheritance.

5. Inclusion of Human Rights in Curriculum of Federal EducationInstitutions: Ministry of Federal Education & Professional Trainingon the request of Ministry of Human Rights initiated a process toreview and update curriculum for the Islamabad Capital Territory.Ministry of Federal Education & Professional Training inculcatedthe human rights contents besides (i) organization of society; (ii)respect for rule of laws; (iii) respect for diversity and tolerance; (iv)peace and social cohesion; (v) Mutual collaboration.

30. *Syed Agha Rafiullah:

Will the Minister for Foreign Affairs be pleased to state the names ofthe countries wherein our embassies do not exist, at present alongwiththe reasons thereof?

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Makhdoom Shah Mahmood HussainQureshi): Pakistan has diplomatic Missions in 87 countries driven by the need tohave effective and maximum outreach as well as pursuance of Foreign Policyimperatives. However, Pakistan does not have resident Missions in the followingcountries, though Pakistan Missions in other countries are concurrently accreditedto most of the countries in the following list:——————————————————————————————S. No Country S. No. Country

——————————————————————————————1 Albania 55 Lesotho2 Andorra 56 Liberia3 Angola 57 Liechtenstein4 Antigua and Barbuda 58 Lithuania

——————————————————————————————

51

——————————————————————————————S. No Country S. No. Country

——————————————————————————————

5 Armenia 59 Luxembourg

6 Bahamas 60 Madagascar

7 Barbados 61 Malawi

8 Belize 62 Country

9 Benin 63 Mali

10 Bhutan 64 Malta

11 Bolivia 65 Marshall Islands

12 Botswana 66 Rwanda (Mission being

opened)

13 Burkina Faso 67 Saint Kitts and Nevis

14 Burundi 68 Saint Lucia

15 Cabo Verde 69 Saint Vincent and the

Grenadines

16 Cameroon 70 Samoa

17 Central African Republic 71 San Marino

18 Chad 72 Sao Tome and Principe

19 Chile 73 Seychelles

20 Colombia 74 Sierra Leone

21 Comoros 75 Slovakia

22 Congo 76 Slovenia

23 Costa Rica 77 Solomon Islands

24 Croatia 78 Somalia

25 Cyprus rus 79 Suriname

26 Djibouti Mission

being opened) 80 Timor-Leste

27 Dominica 81 Togo

28 Dominican Republic 82 Tonga

29 Eucador 83 Trinidad and Tobago

30 El Salvador 84 Mauritania

31 Equatorial Guinea 85 Micronesia

32 Eritrea 86 Moldova

——————————————————————————————

52

——————————————————————————————S. No Country S. No. Country

——————————————————————————————

33 Estonia 87 Monaco

34 Eswatini 88 Mongolia

35 Fiji 89 Montenegro

36 Finland 90 Mozambique

37 Gabon 91 Namibia

38 Gambia 92 Nauru

39 Georgia 93 Nicaragua

40 Ghana (Mission being 94 North Macedonia

opened)

41 Grenada 95 Palau

42 Guatemala 96 Palestine

43 Guinea 97 Panama

44 Guinea-Bissau 98 Papua New Guinea

45 Guyana 99 Paraguay

46 Haiti 100 Peru

47 Honduras 101 The Ivory Coast (Mission

being opened)

48 Iceland 102 Tuvalu

49 Israel 103 Uganda (Mission being

opened)

50 Jamaica 104 Uruguay

51 Kiribati 105 Vatican City

52 Kosovo 106 Vanuatu

53 Laos 107 Venezuela

54 Latvia 108 Zambia

——————————————————————————————Pakistan’s interests are looked after through concurrent accreditation in

countries where we do not have resident Missions. The details are given in thefollowing chart:

54

ISLAMABAD: TAHIR HUSSAIN,The 8th March, 2020 Secretary.

PCPPI—378(2020) NA—08-03-2020—600.

1

(20th Session)

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SECRETARIAT

————

“UNSTARRED QUESTIONS AND THEIR REPLIES”

For Monday, the 9th March, 2020

4. Nawab Muhammad Yousuf Talpur:(Deferred during 13th Session)


(a) whether it is a fact that Peshawar High Court through itsdirections in 2011 and a decisions of the Federal Cabinet askedfor dissolution of PEPCO; if so, the reasons for non-implementation of the above said decisions for dissolution ofPEPCO;

(b) the legal status of PEPCO at present;

(c) the role and mandate of PEPCO in the energy sector;

(d) how far PEPCO has been successful in overseeing managementof DISCOs;

(e) the specific role of PEPCO in the light of Regulation ofGeneration, Transmission and Distribution of Electric PowerAct, 1997 and amended Act of 2018 when GENCOs, NTDC,CPPA & DISCOs have their independent BoDs;

(f) the role of Power Division, PEPCO & BoDs of DISCOs inappointment and transfers of CEOs of DISCOs; and

(g) the role of NEPRA as a Regulator in DISCOs?

Reply not received.

2

29. Mr. Muhammad Aslam Khan:(Deferred during 17th Session)


(a) the names of Ministries Divisions and other Government Departments/ Organizations against which electricity bills areoutstanding at present indicating also the amount pendingagainst each;

(b) the time by which the said amount will be recovered?

Reply not received. 11. Haji Imtiaz Ahmed Choudhary:

(Deferred during 18th Session)


(a) the reasons for very low gas pressure in the Constituency NA-85District Mandi Bahauddin particularly in areas of MandiBahauddin City;

(b) whether there is any proposal under consideration of theGovernment to address the problems of gas pressure at an earliestso that the difficulties of the people may be reduced as the peoplebelonging to the said constituency NA-85 are protesting dailyon the said problem?

Minister for Petroleum Division (Mr. Omar Ayub Khan): (a) SNGPLhas reported that during peak winter season, demand of domestic consumers’increases manifold, due to space and water heating due to which certain areason the tail end of gas network may face low pressure problems. Similarly, lowgas pressure is also being faced in District Mandi Bahauddin.

(b) The Company endeavors to provide uninterrupted supply of gasas its top priority to the Domestic/ Commercial sector. In order to mitigate theincreased demand of Domestic consumers, RLNG is being injected in thesystem. Low pressure complaints received from the consumers are promptlyattended by the Company’s teams and all possible efforts are being carried

3

out to ensure gas supply to its valued consumers. It is worthy to mention herethat this year 1115 % more gas is being provided to domestic sector ascompared to previous year, on SNGPL’s network.

The Company further apprised that the system augmentation involvingrehabilitation & replacement of old network, tiein of low pressure networkwith high pressure supply main and feeder mains is under process. Two newTBSs have already been installed for Mandi Bahauddin City and new TBSshave also been proposed to regulate the gas pressure and to resolve the lowpressure issue of Mandi Bahauddin City. 16. Sheikh Rohale Asghar:


Will the Minister for Communications be pleased to state the locationswhere fencing alongside of Motorways are damaged across the countryalongwith steps taken by the Government in this regard?

Minister for Communications (Mr. Murad Saeed): NHA has enteredinto an agreement with M/s Motorway Operations and RehabilitationEngineering (Private) Limited (a subsidiary owned by FWO) for “Overlayand Modernization of LahoreIslamabad Motorway (M2)” under a BOTbased Concession Agreement signed on 23rd April, 2014 for a period oftwenty (20) years. It is further added that all the maintenance, operationincluding repair of fence activities on LahoreIslamabad Motorway M2 arethe responsibility of M/s MORE (the concessionaire of M2).

Fence from KM 12+000 to KM 17+000 has been removed by M/sFWO (assignment contractor of M/s MORE) due to construction of additionallanes between Faizpur to Ravi Toll Plaza to address the issue of trafficcongestions at Ravi Toll Plaza. Fence at said location shall be reinstalledafter completion of work at site. In this regard, proper safety measures havebeen adopted at site for safety of road users.

There is no location on Motorway M2, where fence ismissing/damaged. However, locals occasionally cut the fence to cross over their lands/villages or sometimes cases of stolen fence were also observed/reported, FIRhas been lodged against such culprits and Concessionaire has been informedfor installation/rectification of missing/ damaged fence, accordingly theconcessionaire rectifies/ install missing/da.maged fence.

4

Moreover plugging/repair of missing/damaged fence is a cyclic processwhich continues throughout the year. The Concessionaire of M2 (M/s MORE)has deployed a separate, fully equipped with resources team at all sections ofMotorway M2 for immediate rectification of missing/damaged fence.

The Lahore Abdul Hakeem M3, GojraKhanewal M4, SukkurMultan M5 Motorways have recently completed and falls under defect liabilityperiod where ever the fence is damaged it is then replaced.

Motorway M4 (Pindi BhattianGojra Section and M4 Ext. (MultanKhanewal Section) were constructed on new alignment/cultivation areas wheresmall local village/Dera (animal farms ) come on the both side of motorways.Number of Underpasses/ subways have been provided by NHA under theMotorway at different locations for crossing of local inhabitants and farmers.However, at some place, they are reluctant to use these under passes andprefer to break the fence and cross Motorway to save time. NHA fieldformations repaired the broken fence promptly through routine maintenance.(Photographs attached). Further Motorway police is also advised to keep aclose eye on culprits and lodged FIR against them. NHA has increased thesecurity of fence by deploying patrolling vehicles round the clock to stop thebreaking of fence and illegal crossing of Motorway.

The fencing on M9 is damaged at numerous locations by local peoples.The NHA shown displeasure and written several letters on the damaged fencingand directed to M/s SCORE/FWO to rectify at the earliest to avoid any roadaccident to the road commuters & the rectification work is in progress.

(Damaged fencing on M9 report is enclosed at Annex-A).

IslamabadPeshawar Motorway (M1) is presently fenced completelywith no gaps. The fence damaged/stolen by miscreants has been replenishedwith barbed wire. Furthermore contracts for round the clock patrolling throughSecurity Guards on M1 have also been awarded to ensure safety of installedfence and other facilities. Responsibility of missing/ stolen fence will be fixedon the firm, providing patrolling services (Annex-B)

As regard to operational portion of Hazara Motorway, it is submittedthat a total of 10km of fence has been stolen by miscreants. For safety offence at Hazara Motorway same model of M1 is being adopted and in thisregard, necessary procurement proceedings have already been initiated andare at advance stage.


5


Will the Minister for Energy (Power Division) be pleased to state thejustification of allowing marriage grant to employees from BPS 1-16and withdrawing such facility from employees in BPS-17 and abovein WAPDA, NTDC, PEPCO, GENCOs and DISCOs?

Reply not received.


Will the Minister for Energy (Power Division) be pleased to state thedetails of disciplinary cases not yet finalized during last one year inWAPDA, PEPCO, GENCOs NTDC and DISCOs after lapse ofprescribed period as per rules, their impact on the promotion andretirement of such officers and the time by which these cases will befinalized?

Reply not received.

25. Ch. Muhammad Hamid Hameed:(Deferred during 19th Session)


(a) whether it is a fact that despite submitting applications underthe Customer Account ID.8144042818 dated 27-04-2017 of aresident of Jinnah Colony, Chak No.328/JB, Tehsil and DistrictToba Tek Singh, the authorities concerned have failed to issuethem demand notice for the provision of natural Gas; if so, thereasons thereof; and

(b) steps being taken to provide natural Gas to aforesaid applicantat an earliest?

Minister for Petroleum Division (Mr. Omar Ayub Khan): (a) SNGPLhas reported that demand note has been issued to the applicant against A/cNo. 8144042818.

6

(b) The Company further apprised that after completion of contractualformalities along with deposit of security/ service line charges by the applicant,connection will be provided on turn / merit basis. 26. Pir Syed Fazal Ali Shah Jillani:


Will the Minister for Energy (Power Division) be pleased to state thedetails of meter reading and bills charged by the HESCO, Hyderabadagainst meter number 01371811333500 installed at HDA Flats Block-A,Qasimabad, Hyderabad, Sindh since 2012 month-wise?

Reply not received. 29. Mr. Saad Waseem:



(a) number of applicants of the recently advertised vacancies of BillDistribution and Assistant Lineman in Islamabad Electric SupplyCompany with qualification required to apply for;

(b) details of marks obtained in NTS test of each candidate appearedin tests of aforesaid vacancies; and

(c) complete details in all aspects including NTS and SSC marks ofshortlisted candidates for interview of aforesaid vacancies withthe criteria adopted in shortlisting?

Reply not received. 33. Mr. James Iqbal:



(a) as to why oil and Gas reserves could not be discovered fromKekra-I, in the Sea;

(b) if so, who is responsible for failure and the action taken by theGovernment in this regard?

7

Minister for Petroleum Division (Mr. Omar Ayub Khan): (a) TheKekra1 well was drilled to a total depth of 5693m. All predrill risk studiesshow that the percentage of success is 12%. And source rock is consideredas the main risk in project evaluation. The well results confirm the failure reasonattributed to the absence of a source rock.

(b) A joint venture of M/s Eni, Exxon Mobil, OGDCL and PPL drilledKekra1 well to discharge 1543 work units commitment in Offshore IndusBlockG without any expenditure by the Government.

Exploration of Petroleum is a risky business and chance of finding acommercial Hydrocarbon (oil and gas) accumulation is uncertain. In the caseof Kekra the chances of discovery of hydrocarbon (gas) were only 11 %.

34. Mr. Salahuddin:


(a) whether it is a fact that the construction of Karachi to HyderabadMotorway (M-9) was substandard;

(b) if so, the reasons for charging the toll tax on the rate of Motorwayfrom the vehicles passing thereon?

Minister for Communications (Mr. Murad Saeed): (a) Conversionof existing KarachiHyderabad 4Lane Superhighway in to 6Line Motorway(M9) was awarded to M/s Superhighway Construction Operation andRehabilitation Engineering (Private) Limited (“SCORE”) a project companyfully owned by M/s Frontier Works Organization (FWO) under public privatepartnership (“PPP”) on buildoperatetransfer (“BOT”) basis.

The M9 Motorway Project was substantially completed in June 2018and opened to traffic as 6Lane Motorway. However, some allied/remainingworks could not be completed owing to following reasons, which are the maincauses for creating an impression of compromised motorway standard.

a. The mutation of land, in the name of NHA, was cancelled byGovernment of Sindh, against which NHA lodged a petition in SindhHigh Court and decision is pending till date.

8

b. Some interchanges and service areas could not be competed owingto nonavailability of land, as the local authorities have refused toentertain the cases of land acquisition taking the plea that NHA’smutation has already been cancelled.

C. Numerous encroachers have also lodged the petitions in lower courts& High Court and defending their cases on aforesaid reasons.

d. National Highway & Motorway Police has Partially mobilized onM9 Motorway due to shortage of staff.

However, the remaining and defective works are being completed byM/s SCORE at their own cost and shall be completed by end of March 2020.

(b) Since M9 Motorway has substantially been completed andopened to traffic as 6Lane Motorway, the toll rates are applied as per agreedterms and conditions of the Concession Agreement signed between NHA andM/s SCORE. 36. Mr. Sikandar Ali Rahoupoto:


Will the Minister for Communications be pleased to refer to the StarredQuestion No.44 replied on 2-1-2020 and to state the domiciles oflaborers working in the construction project of Jamshoro SehwanRoad?

Minister for Communications (Mr. Murad Saeed): It is appraisedthat total 668 persons in category of laborers are working with M/s XinjiangBeixin, Contractor of Majhand Sehwan section of CAREC CorrridorTrancheI project.

Place of Residence (Domicile) on the basis of NIC of labor workingon project, is as under:—————————————————————————————

Sr.No. Workers Place—————————————————————————————

1 451 Sindh2 205 Punjab3 07 KPK

——————————————————————————————

9

—————————————————————————————Sr.No. Workers Place

—————————————————————————————4 02 Balochistan5 03 AJK

—————————————————————————————Total 668

—————————————————————————————— 38. Syed Imran Ahmad Shah:


Will the Minister for Energy (Petroleum Division) be pleased to referto the Un-Starred Question No.24 replied on 13-01-2020 and to state:

(a) the details of inhabitants of the area, who have got stay orderdue to which commenced work of laying new pipelines have been stopped;

(b) the date of last hearing of the case; and the date of next hearingof the case;

(c) what steps are being taken by the relevant authorities for earlydisposal of the case; and

(d) what steps are being taken by the relevant authorities to improvethe pressure of natural gas in existing network?

Minister for Petroleum Division (Mr. Omar Ayub Khan): (a) SNGPLhas reported that Mr. Muhammad Umar Nagra and others, have obtained astay order.

(b) Last date of hearing was 28012020 and the next date is12022020 for arguments on the stay application.

(c) The Company further reported that their law section is inconsultation with the Company’s Senior Counsel for early disposal of the case.Further, NOC from CDA is also pending, which shall also be required.

(d) SNGPL endeavors to provide sufficient gas pressure to its valuedconsumers. Steps taken includes visit of emergency teams in the low pressureareas to address the low pressure complaints of the consumers.

10

In addition to the above, RLNG is also being injected into the domesticsector to mitigate the gap between demand and supply. However, after layingof above line, as the matter is in litigation, low pressure issue will be resolvedto a large extent. 1. Nawab Muhammad Yousuf Talpur:


(a) whether it is a fact that on transfer of a XEN from one DISCOto the other, curtails promotion prospectus of Junior Engineersof the DISCO where XEN is transferred;

(b) the details of XENs who were transferred during last two yearsfrom one DISCO to the other reasons/grounds thereof;

(c) the directions of Honourable Supreme Court if any in this behalf;and

(d) whether such practice will be discontinued; if not, reasonsthereof?

Reply not received.

2. Nawab Muhammad Yousuf Talpur:


(a) whether it is a fact that office of CFO, HESCO vide letterNo.286-87 dated 31-12-2019 and 288-89 dated 31-12-2019 afterlapse of more than 09 years rose from a deep slumber and hasdemanded for payment of pension contribution from Governmentof Sindh and Government of Pakistan in respect of one of itsemployee (Ghulam Sarwar Dars), who remained on deputationto Government of Sindh and Government of Pakistan from11-06-2008 to 26-09-2008 and from 01-11-2008 to 31-03-2008respectively;

(b) if so, why action is being taken by CFO, HESCO after a longtime, its specific reason; and

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(c) whether the inquiry will be held against CFO, HESCO for grossnegligence and lack of supervision as this belated actiontantamount to harassment of employee as he has been threatenedthat due to non-receipt of pension contribution, his above periodwill not be counted in service?

Reply not received. 3. Ms. Naureen Farooq Ibrahim:


(a) is there any country-wide mechanism for managing record andmaintaining database related to cases of violence againstchildren;

(b) facts about the child labour in domestic sphere;

(c) facts about Magnitude of Psychological Violence in Schools;and

(d) steps taken to reduce physical, psychological violence in Schools?

Minister for Human Rights (Dr. Shireen M. Mazari): (a) In orderto maintain database related to the cases of violence against children, theMinistry of Human Rights is developing Human Rights Management InformationSystem (HRMIS). The PC1 of the project has been approved by theDepartmental Development Working Party (DDWP) on 12th September, 2019.HRMIS will record the cases of violence against children.

(b) As per Rules of Business, 1973, the subject of labour is beingdealt by the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human ResourcesDevelopment with respect to international commitments. Moreover, Directorateof Labour in ICT, Chief Commissioner’s Office has been mandated to monitorissues of labour including domestic child workers to the extent of ICT. TheDirectorate of Labour has been requested to provide information aboutdomestic workers, however, their response is still awaited. The Ministry ofHuman Rights has taken the following measures for protection of rights of thechildren:

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Legislative Measures:

The ICT Child Protection Act, 2018 has been enacted to providefor establishment of mechanism for rescue, care, and protection ofchildren at risk and for registration of the unattended children. Underthis Act, a Child Protection Institute is being established shortly.Moreover, Child Protection Advisory Board has also been notified.A Child Protection Institute is being established which will provideservices to the vulnerable children at ICT.

National Commission on the Rights of the Child Act, 2017 hasbeen promulgated to effectively coordinate, monitor and promotethe Rights of the Child, the Under this Act, a Commission is beingestablished. In this regard a Summary has been submitted to theCabinet for establishment of the Commission.

The Criminal Law (Second Amendment) Act, 2016 has beenenacted to criminalize cruelty to child, child sexual abuse and traffickingof human beings.

Other Measures taken/being taken:

The Ministry of Human Rights is in process of initiating a trainingprogram to sensitize ICT Police on violence against childrenparticularly on child abuse.

A media campaign has been launched for awareness on violenceagainst children including child abuse. In this regard, the Ministryof Human Rights has developed video messages on child abuseand PEMRA has telecasted these messages on public and privatechannels.

A toll free helpline 1099 is operational in the Ministry of HumanRights for legal advice on human/child rights violations includingvictims of violence, their families and other vulnerable segmentsof the society through legal advice and referral.

The Ministry of Human Rights in collaboration with UNICEF haslaunched the National Child Labour Survey on 25th March,2019. The President of Pakistan graced the occasion. The surveywill be ,completed in 2020.

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National Child Protection Center (NCPC), Ministry of Human Rightshas constituted and notified 12 Child Protection Committees at ICTlevel comprising of local teachers, doctors, religious and local politicalleaders, psychologists, house wives, philanthropists, businessmen,youth representatives and social workers, etc. In order to sensitizethese Committees on the issue, Ministry of Human Rights conductedan orientation session to mobilize their support for undertakingawareness and prevention of child abuse.

(c) It is pertinent to mention that the subject matter falls in the domain ofMinistry of Education and Professional training. The concernedMinistry is also custodian of implementation of Article 25A of theConstitution of Pakistan, 1973 that ensures every child’s right toeducation. The concerned Ministry has been requested to providedata regarding the magnitude of psychological violence in schools;however, their response is still awaited.

The Ministry of Human Rights has conducted two situational analysisstudies on “out of school children” in selected union councils andkachi Abadies of Islamabad. These studies identified child labourersincluding domestic workers. In this regard, the findings andrecommendations of the studies were shared with Ministry of FederalEducation and Professional Training and National Commission forHuman Development for addressing the issue effectively.

(d) The matter falls under the domain of the Ministry of Federal Educationand Professional Trainings, however, the Ministry of Human Rightshas drafted Prohibition of Corporal Punishment to deal with suchissues.

The Islamabad High Court on 13th February, 2020 banned /suspendsection 89 of Pakistan Penal Code that allows for the use of corporalpunishment by parents, guardian and teachers (in good faith for thebenefit).

The Minister for Human Rights has visited various public andprivate schools in ICT wherein she talked with parents, teachersand students on the issue of child abuse. It is pertinent to mentionthat the Honurable Minister will extend visit to more schools. The

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Information Education and Communication (IEC) material has beendisseminated.

4. Dr. Mahreen Razzaq Bhutto:


(a) detail of increase made in the electricity bills during the last oneyear; and

(b) the detail of domestic and commercial consumers separately?

Reply not received.

5. Dr. Shazia Sobia Aslam Soomro:Will the Minister for Science and Technology be pleased to state stepsbeing taken to make the tin packed food items available in the marketby each department in accordance with the international standardsand prescribed rules of quality and hygienic?

Minister for Science and Technology (Mr. Fawad Ahmed): PakistanStandards & Quality Control Authority (PSQCA), working under theadministrative control of Ministry of Science & Technology (MoST), ismandated to formulate Standards and monitor the quality of products fallingunder the Compulsory Certification Mark Scheme. PSQCA has so far included105 food and nonfood items in its mandatory items list including 40 food items(Annex-I).

PSQCA has complete mechanism to check the quality of food itemsincluding tin packed food items as per international guidelines and practices.PSQCA checks the quality of food items at import stage as well as locallymanufactured with following activities:

i. Inspectionsii. Collection of Random Samplesiii. Testingiv. Continuous Surveillance and monitoringv. Open Market sampling

PSQCA is responsible to check the quality of the said food itemswhich are either paper packed or tin packed in accordance with internationalstandards and prescribed rules of quality and hygiene.

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PSQCA has also included the tin plate PS: 47732002 in its mandatorylist and issued several licenses to the manufacturers of tin plate containersafter the quality assurance.

The mandatory food items manufacturers, licensed by PSQCA assurethe quality of their packing material including tin plates are of food grade qualityas per International Standards and guidelines.

Annex-I

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6. Dr. Shazia Sobia Aslam Soomro:


(a) the steps taken by the Government at the international level to

resolve the Kashmir dispute according to UN resolutions;

(b) the number of conferences/seminars conducted by the Pakistan

Missions abroad to highlight the Kashmir issue during the last

one years; and

(c) the details of diplomatic efforts made by the Government to

highlights the complete curfew and increase in brutalities

committed by Indian forces against Kashmiris after the

abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A of Constitution of India?

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Minister for Foreign Affairs (Makhdoom Shah Mahmood HussainQureshi): (a)

Immediately following India’s actions of 5th August, Pakistandowngraded its diplomatic relations with India and suspended allbilateral trade as a result of decisions taken in a National SecurityCommittee meeting. The Prime Minister addressed the Parliamentand gave the full spectrum of Pakistan’s response. Immediateinstructions were issued to all Missions abroad to undertake allpossible efforts to highlight Indian atrocities in the wake of August5th while resident diplomats were briefed on multiple occasions bythe Foreign Minister himself on the most recent situation as well asPakistan’s response to it.

In his address to the United Nations General Assembly on 27September 2019, the Prime Minister extensively highlighted theJammu & Kashmir issue and the danger its nonresolution presentedto region as well as global peace and security.

The Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister as well as the Presidentreached out to their counterparts across the world to inform them ofPakistan’s stanceon the matter. The Foreign Minister wrote lettersto the President of the United Nations General Assembly, the SecurityCouncil and the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The PrimeMinister made calls to numerous state and government while theForeign Minister has reached out to over 40 of his counterparts. ThePresident highlighted the illegal and unilateral actions of the Indiangovernment while addressing the 18th Summit of the 120membersnonaligned movement and our parliamentarians have been activelyraising the issue in the International Parliamentary Union (IPU) aswell as other multilateral forums.

As a result of our efforts the United Nations Security Council heldConsultations on 16th August 2019 and again on 15th January, 2020in which UNSC reaffirmed the “disputed” nature of Jammu andKashmir and the Council’s role in the dispute. The convening ofthese Consultations directly repudiated the Indian position that theiractions were an “internal affair”. The Security Council also rejectedunequivocally the unilateral Indian attempt to sidestep Councilresolutions.

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Our Missions abroad have been actively engaged in conductingseminars and arranging public rallies (where the local laws allow it).Editorials and articles regarding the Jammu & Kashmir situation havebeen published in the international press. The Prime Minister wrotean oped on the Jammu & Kashmir situation in the New York Timeswhich was well received. Similarly, the Foreign Minister, as well asour Ambassadors abroad have also penned opeds in prestigiousnewspapers highlighting the humanitarian crisis in IOJ&K.

Official visits to Pakistan and AJK from foreign delegations interestedin the Jammu & Kashmir situation have been encouraged.

During his recent visit to Pakistan, Turkish President Recep TayyipErdogan addressing a joint session of the Pakistani parliament for arecord fourth time, pledged to continue Turkey’s unflinching supportfor Pakistan’s stance on Jammu & Kashmir and stated that the plightof the people of IOJ&K meant as much to Turkey as it did to Pakistan.

United Nations Secretary General during his recent visit to Pakistanexpressed “deep concern” at heightened tensions over the disputedregion of Jammu & Kashmir and called for India to respect “humanrights and fundamental freedoms” when dealing with discontent inthe territory.

Meanwhile a 12member crossparliamentary delegation from theUK led by Ms. Debbie Abrahams, MP and Chair of the AllPartyParliamentary Kashmir Group (APPKG) visited Pakistan and AJKfrom 1923 February 2020. The group regretted that despite repeatedrequests, it had not been allowed access to IOJ&K while Pakistanhad warmly welcomed them to AJK. It was conveyed that this wasbecause Pakistan had nothing to hide.

The OIC Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Jammu and Kashmir,Ambassador Yousef M. AlDobeay recently visited Pakistan andAzad Jammu and Kashmir. The Special Envoy visited LOC to getfirst hand’ knowledge of lost of life and property caused byindiscriminate firing of Indian forces. The OIC has extended steadfastsupport to the Kashmiri people in their struggle for right to selfdetermination, through its dedicated Contact Group on Jammu andKashmir and its Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission(IPHRC).

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Visits of ASEAN parliamentarians under the umbrella of MAPIM(the Malaysian consultative council for Islamic organization) as wellas separately, FOKCC (Friends of Kashmir Committee Canada)have also been conducted.

(b) Exposing the barbaric atrocities being committed by the Indianoccupation forces in Kashmir and the consequent human sufferingremained one of our key foreign policy objectives. In this regard,Pakistan Missions abroad have been organizing special events onregular basis including seminars, round table conferences, rallies andphoto exhibitions to highlight the cause. Complete list of activitiesdone by our Missions is attached. Moreover, 14th August wasobserved as solidarity day with the people of IOJ&K while 27thOctober was observed as Black Day, with rallies taken out acrossPakistan and abroad in support of the Kashmiri people. In addition,5th February 2020 was observed as Solidarity Day with the peopleof Kashmir.

(c) Peaceful resolution of the Jammu & Kashmir dispute remains thecornerstone of Pakistan’s foreign policy. In this regard, While thelongterm objective remained the peaceful resolution of Jammu &Kashmir dispute, the immediate objective of all our Kashmir relatedactivities since 5th August 2019 remained lifting of the military siegeand inhuman lockdown in IOJ&K which has crippled the lives of thelocal people, especially the elderly and the sick, and alleviation ofthe hardship of the Kashmiri people. Furthermore, the focus of ourdiplomatic efforts has been to highlight the need to take followingmeasures to address the prevailing situation in IOJ&K: Release ofthose arbitrarily arrested, including the Kashmiri leadership; Repealof draconian laws such as PSA and AFSPA; Access to human rightsorganizations and the media; And withdrawal of over 900,000occupation troops.

(Annexure has been placed in the National Assembly Library) 7. Syed Hussain Tariq:


(a) the Court/Province-wise details of total number of posts ofJudges sanctioned and lying vacant in High Courts and the lower

20

judiciary alongwith time since each of above post is vacant;and

(b) the steps being taken to fill these posts expeditiously?

Minister for Law and Justice (Dr. Muhammad Farogh Naseem):(a) The Court/Provincewise details furnished by Law and JusticeCommission of Pakistan in respect of total number of posts of Judgessanctioned and lying vacant in High Courts and the Lower Judiciary is annexed.Further, information regarding the time since the posts are lying vacant in HighCourts and lower judiciary has not so far been provided by the Commission.The requisite information will be presented in the House as and when received.

(b) On insertion of Article 175A through the Constitution(18th Amendment) Act, 2010 appointments of Judges in Superior Courts isthrough Judicial Commission of Pakistan, this Division has no role on the steptaken to fill the posts. The appointment of Judicial Officers i.e. District andSessions Judges falls within the jurisdiction, superintendence and control ofrespective High Courts in the provinces under Article 203 of the Constitutionof the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, which is reproduced as under:

“Each High Court shall supervise and control all Courtssubordinate to it”. 8. Syed Hussain Tariq:


(a) whether prior to build, M-9 traffic load was assessed of the road,particularly with reference to its design, requirement of linesand construction; if so, the details thereof;

(b) if such assessment was made, what changes and rectificationwere made in the design of the M-9 in light of such assessmentand whether the existing lines are enough to meet the trafficload thereon;

(c) whether the concerned authorities of the Government has takennotice of deteriorating conditions of M-9 after every passingday; if so, the details thereof; and

21

(d) what corrective measures are being taken to bring the M-9 atpar with the Motorways of the rest of the country, by bringingnecessary changes therein?

Minister for Communications (Mr. Murad Saeed): (a) Yes, prior toconstruction of M9, NHA carried out the traffic studies for detailed designthrough a contract agreement with a consultant (M/s Zeeruk) in 208 later onwhen the project was given to FWO on BOT basis, they confirmed the trafficstudies in January 2014 and February, 2015 details are attached at Annex-A.

(b) yes, as per the traffic assessment existing lanes are enough tomeet the traffic load and the operating conditions are fair, with respect tocapacity at present.

If in case the traffic load is increased over the passage of time thenthere is a provision in the contract for addition of lanes accordingly.

(c) Yes, the concerned authorities of NHA has taken serious noticeof deteriorating condition of M9 and numerous instructions through meetingsand written letters conveyed to M/s SCORE/ FWO, concessionaire (copiesattached at Annex B).

(d) M9 was designed as 6 lane, access controlled fenced, Motorwayalong with its allied facilities. Ancillary developments relevant to the projectwere also furnished such as landscaping .Pedestrian/eattle crossings, lighting,administrative and operation buildings/ centers controlling systems, vehiclerecovery and environmentfriendly development of areas located in the projectjurisdiction and where the Motorway links with the city or other connectionpoints total 185 KM service road comprising each side’s requirement was tobe provided to facilitate the local commuters.

Minimum two main service areas like wise of M2 ( Lahore IslamabadMotorway) service area standard, with minimum facilities were to beestablished as part of the project along with provision of Auxiliary lanes ofentry and exit of the Business operators adjacent to M9 for fuel stations,restaurants and industries etc.

However, Land which was previously mutated to NHA in 2012 wascancelled unilaterally by Sindh Government in 2017. The land issue is themain hurdle in the provision of above stipulated facilities in M9 project by

22

NHA. It does not therefore, fulfills the basic standards/ specifications ofmotorway.

(Annexures have been placed in the National Assembly Library) 9. Mr. Saad Waseem:

Will the Minister for Energy (Petroleum Division) be pleased to state:(a) whether it is a fact that despite depositing the amount of demand

notice of Rs.6000/- under the customer ID 13500291458 dated11-12-2019 and customer ID 82844925253 dated 19-12-2019of residents of Chak No.82/JB, tehsil and district Faisalabadand customer ID 9782173951 dated 06-12-2019 of a resident ofChak No.81/JB, Pandori, Dijkot, Pensra Road, Faisalabad theauthorities concerned have failed to install Gas meters of naturalGas against the aforesaid deposit;

(b) if so, the reasons thereof; and

(c) steps being taken to provide natural gas to aforesaid at anearliest?

Minister for Petroleum Division (Mr. Omar Ayub Khan): (a) SNGPLhas informed that the gas connections have been provided against CustomerID 13500291458, Customer ID 82844925253 and Customer ID9782173951 after installation of gas meters.

(b) As mentioned above.

(c) As mentioned above.

10. Mrs. Shahida Akhtar Ali:


(a) whether dim light/low voltage power is being supplied toresidents of Upper Shahother, Tehsil Balakot by the HESCO; ifso, the detail thereof; and

(b) the time by which full electricity voltage is to be supplied to saidresidents?

Reply not received.

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11. Mr. Muhammad Aslam Khan:


(a) how many cases of promotion of employees of Pakistan Postare pending since long;

(b) how many cases of regularization of services and interveningperiod is pending since long;

(c) whether it is a fact that the Post Master General (MetropolitanCircle) Karachi vide letter No.MCK/Staff/SA-8/2015 datedKarachi 14-03-2018, 31-07-2019 forwarded a case for decision/approval for regularization of intervening period ofSyed Shakeel Hussain, Clerk Kemari, NPO, Karachi by thecompetent authority M/o Postal Services, Islamabad which isaddressed to the Dy. Director (PA&P) Directorate GeneralPakistan Post, Islamabad, almost two years lapsed, why thecase not yet decided and lying pending with Secretary M/o PostalServices;

(d) if so, the time by which cases will be decided alongwith clearanceof dues?

Reply not received. 12. Nawabzada Iftakhar Ahmed Khan Babar:

Will the Minister for Energy (Power Division) be pleased to refer tothe Un-Starred Question No.12 replied on 06-05-2019 and to state:

(a) the latest status of construction of Grid Station, which wasapproved for NA-184, Muzzaffargarh at Shah Jamal;

(b) whether required land for the construction of Grid Station hasbeen purchased or not; if yes, the details; if not, the reasonsthereof;

(c) whether relevant executing agency will complete the task withinstipulated time frame and the Grid Station will be madefunctional within two years as informed by the Government inthe reply of aforesaid question; if not, the reasons thereof;

(d) if construction of such Grid Station is late as per provided

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schedule of its completion, the reasons thereof; and(e) what steps are being taken to complete the Grid Station

expeditiously?

Reply not received.

13. Moulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali:

Will the Minister for Energy (Petroleum Division) be pleased to referto the Un-Starred Question No.20 replied on 13-01-2020 and to state:

(a) the justification to issue demand notice of Rs.25000/-(dated 25-07-2019) for provision of natural Gas to resident ofMohallah Faisal Colony Near Bilal Masjid, Tehsil and DistrictChakwal under consumer ID No.99814252963;

(b) whether it is a fact that the residence of above said consumer isjust away from 400 meters from main Gas pipeline;

(c) the street of the said residence is closed;

(d) if so, what steps are being taken to provide natural Gas to saidresident by laying additional Gas pipeline, if needed; and

(e) the time by which it will be provided?

Minister for Petroleum Division (Mr. Omar Ayub Khan): (a) SNGPLhas informed that the Gas connections are being processed on turn/merit basis.Urgent Fee Scheme was introduced to provide gas connections on fast trackbasis against Rs. 25,000/ for those applications which require gas on urgentbasis.

The applicant ID # 9981425963 R/O Mohallah Faisal Colony NearBilal Masjid, Tehsil & District Chakwal applied for fast track gas connection,therefore a bill of Rs. 25,000/ was issued to him. However, It is pertinent tomention here that Urgent Fee Bill is issued only on provisional basis subject toavailability of gas network in front of applicant’s premise and feasibility reportat the time of Survey.

(b) Yes, as per survey report residents of above said consumers are400 feet (120 Meters) away from our existing gas network.

(c) Yes, as per our survey report, applicant street is closed.

(d) Subject premise of applicant is 120 meters away from existing

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gas network. Currently, such cases are being considered for laying of networkin the above locality against which applications were submitted during 201617.Whereas, the subject case pertains to year 2019.

(e) The Company further apprised that subject case shall beconsidered for laying of pipelines in Fiscal year 202223 on turn/merit basis.

14. Mr. Saad Waseem:


(a) whether it is a fact that transformer installed near Jamia Masjidin Village Darkali Shar Sahi, Tehsil Kallar Syedan, DistrictRawalpindi have got fault and become disfunctional and its loadhas been shifted to another transformer, which have beenoverloaded for the last many moths; if so, the reasons thereof;

(b) whether it is also a fact that relevant authorities concerned havefailed to maintenance or replace said transformer;

(c) if so, what steps are being taken to do maintenance or install annew transformer and time by which aforesaid will beimplemented?

Reply not received. 15. Sheikh Rohale Asghar:


(a) the employees of Power Division and its attached departmentwent abroad at the expense of Government during the last fouryears; and

(b) the detail of authority sent them abroad and the reasons therefor;and

(c) the amount incurred on each employees?

Reply not received.

16. Sheikh Rohale Asghar:

Will the Minister for Communications be pleased to refer to the StarredQuestion No.35 replied on 02-01-2020 and to state whether a final

26

date can be fixed for the completion of Peshawar More to New AirportIslamabad Metro Bus Project?

Reply not received.

17. Mr. Muhammad Afzal Khokhar:Will the Minister for Human Rights be pleased to state the percentageof the people who are enjoying all Human Rights in accordance withinternational principles in the country at present?

Minister for Human Rights (Dr. Shireen M. Mazari): TheGovernment of Pakistan is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of HumanRights which protects all the human rights and also emphasizes the fact that allhuman beings are entitled to these rights by virtue of their birth and withoutdistinction of any kind. Furthermore, the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973protects the Fundamental Rights of all citizens of Pakistan through Articles 8to 28. Thus, every human being is entitled to fundamental rights and freedoms.

Moreover, Ministry of Human Rights has ratified seven UN HumanRights Conventions/ Treaties which protect various civil, political rights aswell as economic, social and cultural rights. In order to ensure theimplementation of these Conventions and the Human Rights Principles laiddown in these Conventions, the Government of Pakistan has taken variouslegislative and policy initiatives to benefit all citizens of the country. Some ofthe key legislative initiatives taken recently are briefly discussed as below:

Approval of “The Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Bill, 2020”by the Parliament of Pakistan and “ICT Rights of Persons withDisability Bill 2020” by the National Assembly in January, 2020.The latter Bill is currently under consideration in the Senate FunctionalCommittee on Human Rights. Both these laws are milestones in theirrespective ambits as the former ensures protection of right to life andsafety of children and the later ensures protection of various rights ofpersons with disabilities.

The Ministry of Human Rights along with Ministry of Law & Justiceprepared a law i.e. Legal Aid and Justice Authority Ordinance, 2019.The aim of this Ordinance is to provide legal aid to deserving caseswho cannot afford legal assistance.

The Ministry of Human Rights is implementing Transgender Persons(Protection of Rights) Act, 2018. The Ministry has constituted aNational Implementation Committee comprising 13 members includingtransgender as a member under the chair of Secretary, MoHR. The

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Ministry has conducted police sensitization sessions and consultativemeetings to draft the Guidelines in order to implement TransgenderPersons Act. The Ministry is establishing Protection Centers fortransgender persons to provide shelter, rehabilitation and othermedical as well as psychological care.

In addition to this, MoHR has drafted laws which are under process,and will help protect fundamental rights and freedoms of all citizensof Pakistan. These laws include The Torture, and Custodial Death(Prevention and Punishment) Bill, 2019; Christian Marriage andDivorce Bill, 2019; Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection)Bill, 2019; Islamabad Capital Territory Senior Citizens Bill, 2019;The Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Bill, 2019; Protection ofJournalists and Media Professionals Bill, 2020.

18. Syed Mehmood Shah:


(a) the number of oil exploring companies working in DistrictSanghar at present; and

(b) the number of local persons recruited therein alongwith thedetails of their domicile and local addresses?

Reply not received. 19. Mr. Ali Gohar Khan:

Will the Minister for Energy (Power Division) be pleased to state thequantum of electricity being wasted under the head of inherent linelosses alongwith district-wise detail thereof?

Reply not received.

ISLAMABAD: TAHIR HUSSAIN,The 8th March, 2020. Secretary.

PCPPI—378(2020) NA—09022020—600.

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