1 (269th Session)
SENATE SECRETARIAT ————— “QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWERS AND THEIR REPLIES”
to be asked at a sitting of the Senate to be held on
Wednesday, the 1st November, 2017
@*Question No. 8. Senator Mohammad Azam Khan Swati: (Notice received on 26-09-2017 at 12:00 p.m.)
Will the Minister for Postal Services be pleased to state:
(a) the profit earned or loss suffered by the Pakistan Post Office Department during the last two years; and
(b) the steps taken by the Government to improve the working and efficiency of the said department and bringing transparency and make the same profitable during the said period?
Moulana Ameer Zaman: (a) The year wise deficit (loss) suffered by the Pakistan Post Office Department during the last two financial years is given as under: (Figures in Million Rs.) —————————————————————————————— Year Deficit (loss) —————————————————————————————— 2015-16 7,488.924 2016-17 9,306.548 —————————————————————————————— (b) To foster further development and diversification of postal services as well as to cater the varied needs of the customers, specially trade and commerce, Pakistan Post is offering a full range of Traditional and Express Postal Services which carry all those features which are offered by the private sector operators including competitive rates. —————————————————————————————— @ Deferred on 24th October, 2017. 2 Following steps have been taken by Pakistan Post Management to improve the working and efficiency of the department.
INTRODUCTION OF UMS-CASH ON DELIVERY SERVICE (UMS-COD)
Pakistan Post has introduced a new service namely “UMS-CASH ON DELIVERY”. Packets, parcels and printed papers prepaid with postage of UMS fee may be transmitted by the inland post as COD articles, provided that the amount specified for remittance to the sender in the case of any such articles does not exceed Rs.100,000/-. At present, the UMS COD Service is available in 226 cities and towns of the country.
INTRODUCTION OF ELECTRONIC MONEY ORDER SERVICE (EMO).
Electronic Money Order (EMO) is the swift way to transfer money from one post office to other post office. The EMO Service is considered as the safe, affordable and accurate to transfer money in Pakistan among 83 GPOs.
SALIENT FEATURES OF ELECTRONIC MONEY ORDER (EMO)
Booking of money orders at the counters
Instant Transmission of money order
Available to en-cash at any GPO instantly
More secure with unique transaction identifier
SMS notification to the customers for Post to Post Service.
ENHANCING MAXIMUM LIMIT OF URGENT MONEY ORDERS (UMO)
To cater the varied needs of the customers and to enhance the scope of the service, maximum limit of a single Urgent Money Order has been enhanced from Rs. 10,000/- to Rs.20,000/- and for UMS-COD a single Urgent Money Order has been enhanced from Rs. 20,000/- to Rs. 100,000/-. 3 EXPANSION OF EXPRESS POST TRACK & TRACE SYSTEM (EMTTS)
Express Mail Track & Trace System (EMTTS) which is available at 83 General Post Offices (GPOs), 03 Post Malls, 04 Post Offices and 52 District Mail Offices (DMOS).
Provision of SMS intimation to sender and recipient regarding delivery and booking of EP articles
Established Call Center for Customer on modern lines.
MOTORIZATION OF POSTMEN BEATS.
For prompt disposal of Postal Mail Pakistan Post has provided 1961 motor cycles to Postmen.
AGREEMENT WITH NADRA
Pakistan Post has recently signed an agreement with NADRA regarding Renewal/Modification and Delivery of CNIC throughout Pakistan. The pilot Project is underway in ten Postal Locations which will be extended throughout the country. The scheme will generate revenue for Pakistan Post as well as provide facility to the general public.
SAME DAY DELIVERY SERVICE AT LAHORE AS PILOT PROJECT.
To counter the market penetration of the private courier companies and to diversify services portfolio to capture emerging market segments in Lahore City, Same Day Delivery Service was launched for Lahore City on experimental basis at selected Post Offices for selected areas with special rates, by utilizing existing human, technical and budgetary resources. Business statistics and customer response is very encouraging and reflects success of the service.
Following steps are under process to improve postal service in the near future:
Pakistan Post has taken steps for successful implementation of Reform agenda approved by the Honorable Prime Minister of Pakistan and initiated following three projects: 4
1. Mobile Money Transfer Solution 2. Pakistan Post Logistics Company 3. Re-branding of Pakistan Post
1. Mobile Money Transfer Solution:
PM approved this project under Public Private Partnership basis. Pakistan Post will convert its all manual money transfer services into latest digital system meeting international standards. The services include in this system are (i) Pension (ii) Micro-finance (iii) G2P / Poverty Alleviation Schemes (iv) POS (v) ATM (vi) e-commerce (vii) Insurance (viii) International remittances (ix) Wallet Cards; and (x) Mobile Applications etc.
2. Pakistan Post Logistics Company
PM also approved this project under Public Private Partnership basis. Under this Project Pakistan Post has established Logistics Company i.e., POSTLOG. This Company will provide latest technology based logistics services to the general public of Pakistan.
3. Re-branding of Pakistan Post
Developing Post Office as a brand and center of convenience & technology. Up-gradation of appearance and facilities in the post offices for its better look and feel.
4. Another project of NIPA Korea is in collaboration with Korea Post is under progress for automation of post offices. This project will be completed in three phases.
To brining transparency in the department Pakistan Post follows and implements the PPRA Rules in letter and spirit.
@*Question No. 23 Senator Chaudhary Tanvir Khan: (Notice received on 29-09-2017 at 11:30 a.m.)
Will the Minister for Foreign Affairs he pleased to slate:
@ Deferred on 24th October, 2017. 5 (a) the names of foreign countries which have established their Embassies and Missions in Pakistan with city wise break up;
(b) the number of staff authorized or allowed for each of the said Embassies and Missions indicating also the actual number of local and foreign persons working in each of the same with designation wise break up; and
(c) the number of Pakistani visas obtained by those Embassies and Missions for their staff during the last five years with year wise and embassy / mission wise break up?
Khawaja Muhammad Asif: (a) Attached is a list of Foreign Embassies/ High Commissions located in Islamabad (Total 79); Representative Office (1) and Consulates (total 34) located in Peshawar, Karachi, Quetta and Lahore at Annex-A.
(b) The latest Directory containing information of diplomatic staff of Foreign Missions in Pakistan has been placed at Annex-B.
Foreign Missions have employed local-based staff keeping in view their own administrative rules. However, the Foreign Diplomatic Missions could be asked to give such statistics which may take considerable time.
(c) After first arrival in Pakistan, visas of all diplomats, staff and their families are processed by the Ministry of Interior. The Ministry of Interior has been requested to furnish the information to the Senate of Pakistan.
(Annexures have been placed on the Table of the House as well as Library.)
*Question No. 124 Senator Mohammad Azam Khan Swati: (Notice received on 27-09-2017 at 03:00 p.m.)
Will the Minister for National Food Security and Research be pleased to state whether the Government has carried out any study / assessment of the Agricultural products which can be exported, if so, the details thereof?
Mr. Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan: Various studies have been conducted by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research through PARC, Social 6 Sciences Division on export potential of Pakistan’s agricultural sector. One of the most comprehensive studies analyzed following seven potential sub-sectors of agriculture for export. Major findings are summarized below.
1. Fish and crustacean (HS-03): Gradually its competitiveness has improved and Pakistan has sufficient potential to expand its export to South Korea, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Spain and Malaysia.
2. Edible fruits and nuts (HS-08): Iran, UAE. Thailand, Russian Federation, and China are the potential markets for the export of edible fruits and nuts from Pakistan.
3. Cereals (HS-10): This sub sector has great export potential in lower income and upper middle-income countries. USA, India, Turkey, Egypt, Philippines, Singapore, Bangladesh, France, Germany and Russian Federation have the numerous potential for cereal export from Pakistan.
4. Sugar and Sugar confectionaries (HS-17): Spain, India, Turkey, Germany, Afghanistan and Philippines are the potential markets for the export of sugar and sugar confectioneries.
5. Beverages (HS-22): Export of this sub-sector increase with countries tied in trade agreement with Pakistan. Afghanistan, Bahrain, Belgium, France, India, Italy, Japan. Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Turkey, and USA are the potential markets for the export of beverages.
6. Raw Skin and hides (HS-41): Lower and upper middle-income countries have great potential with Germany has the highest potential for export of raw skin and hide.
7. Cotton (HS-52): Cotton has consistent export competitiveness in the world market. Malaysia, Kenya, Jordan, Thailand, Mauritius, Netherlands, Norway, Australia and Russian Federation are the potential markets for the export of cotton.
*Question No. 125 Senator Mohammad Azam Khan Swati: (Notice received on 27-09-2017 at 03:00 p.m.)
Will the Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development be pleased to state the mechanism devised for 7 monitoring the performance of Overseas Employment Promoters in the country?
Pir Syed Sadaruddin Shah Rashidi: The performance of the OEPs are monitored according to the following procedure:—
(1) Licences of Overseas Employment Promoters (OEPs) are renewed on the basis of their performance in the light of rule 9 (2) of Emigration Rules, 1979 wherein it is stated that the Overseas Employment Promoters licence is renewed:—
(i) for the period of three years, if the licencee has performed well and has exported fifty or more workers in the last three years of the validity of the licence;
(ii) for a period of two years if the licence has exported ten or more workers but less than fifty workers within the last three years of the validity of the licence; and
(iii) for a period of one year; if the licencee has sent no worker or less than ten workers for employment abroad within the last three years of the validity of the licence.
(2) However, Show Cause Notices resulting in warning and penalties were issued to those OEPs who performed poorly (i.e. sent 9 or less workers abroad) during the last 03 years.
*Question No. 126 Senator Mohammad Azam Khan Swati: (Notice received on 28-09-2017 at 10:15 a.m.)
Will the Minister for Communications be pleased to state:
(a) the time by which repair work on the National Highway road from Hawalian to Mansehra will be completed; and
(b) whether there is any proposal under consideration of the Government to widen the said road, if not, the steps to be taken to resolve the traffic issues on that road? 8 Hafiz Abdul Kareem: (a) The Road portion from Havelian to Mansehra is in good condition. Continuous maintenance and repair works are carried out in different locations as and when required. Geometric improvement of critical curves on 04 different locations in Khota Kabar area has already been completed. Moreover widening and improvement of section from Km: 85+500 (Datta) to Km: 113+500 (Shinkiari) has been completed.
(b) The section from Havelian to Mansehra is getting urbanized very quickly due to which commuters face frequent traffic jams. In order to mitigate the said problem, feasibility study of Abbottabad Buildt-Up area is completed by design consultant M/ s ACE. PC-1 for following three packages have been prepared and recommended by the NHA Executive Board and submitted to CDWP for further process:
Package -I:—
From Muslimabad to Bus Stand:
4 Lane Dual Carriageway
Provision of protected U-Turns
Package -II:—
From Bus Stand to Allah Hoo Chowk:
Elevated 4 Lane Dual carriageway
Package -III:—
From Allah Hoo Chowk to Abbottabad Public School (APS):
Existing road to be improved
Provision of protected U-Turns.
*Question No. 127 Senator Ahmed Hassan: (Notice received on 29-09-2017 at 10:35 a.m.)
Will the Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development be pleased to state: 9 (a) whether the Overseas Pakistanis Division has established any office or centre for registration of complaints by Overseas Pakistanis, if so, the details thereof; and
(b) the number of complaints registered in the said office or centre by Overseas Pakistanis during the last two years and action taken on the same?
Pir Syed Sadaruddin Shah Rashidi: (a) Yes, Overseas Pakistanis Division has been managing an Online system since February 2016 for registration /redressal of Grievances of Overseas Pakistanis. However, it was realized that there was duplication of registration of complaints of Overseas Pakistanis in the Ministry as well as Overseas Pakistanis Foundation. Therefore the system has been centralized under Overseas Pakistanis Foundation and further upgraded to facilitate the Overseas Pakistanis and their families.
Further, 24 hours, 7 days a week Monitoring/Complaint Cell has been established / functioning with effect from 26-06-2013 in OPF head office Islamabad. The main function of the cell is to facilitate the Overseas Pakistanis at any time. Help Line (111-040-040).
One Window Facilitation Desks (OWFD) have been established at all major International Airports in Pakistanis to resolve the issues of overseas Pakistanis, while coming in and going abroad.
In addition to above the following steps have been taken by the Government.
i. Grievances Commissioner for Overseas Pakistanis has been appointed by the Wafaqi Mohtasib (Ombudsman) Secretariat, Islamabad for resolving the complaints of Overseas Pakistanis.
ii. Overseas Pakistanis Commission Punjab (OPC) has been established by the Punjab Government for resolving the problems of the overseas Pakistanis and registered their complaints through online system.
(b) The details of complaints registered with Overseas Pakistanis Foundation and action taken is as under. 10 —————————————————————————————— Total Cases Cases under complaints received settled process —————————————————————————————— 2,497 1,067 1,430 ——————————————————————————————
*Question No. 128 Senator Ahmed Hassan: (Notice received on 29-09-2017 at 10:35 a.m.)
Will the Minister for Foreign Affairs be pleased to state the names and locations of educational institutions established by the Government in foreign countries?
Khawaja Muhammad Asif: (a) Pakistan Embassy/community Schools are present in fourteen Pakistan Missions abroad i.e. Abu Dhabi, Ankara, Bahrain, Beijing, Cairo, Damascus, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Kuwait, Muscat, Tripoli, Riyadh, and Tehran.
*Question No. 129 Senator Dr. Jehanzeb Jamaldini: (Notice received on 03-10-2017 at 09:15 a.m.)
Will the Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination be pleased to state:
(a) whether any reforms package has been prepared by the present Government for health sector, if so, the details thereof; and
(b) whether the said reforms package has been implemented, if not, the reasons thereof?
Mrs. Saira Afzal Tarar: (a) 1. The reform package prepared by the present government for health sector is in the shape of the Prime Minister’s National Health Program (PMNHP), a social health protection initiative, which has been launched by Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination as per the directives from Prime Minister Office.
2. The program is designed to provide financial protection to families, living below poverty line of US $2 per day, against catastrophic health expenditure incurred during accessing health care services. The program is a path to achieve 11 Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Pakistan and is playing an integral role in achieving National Health Vision of Pakistan 2016-2025.
3. Through Prime Minister’s National Health Program each enrolled beneficiary family is entitled of secondary indoor health care services worth Rs: 50,000 per year and 7 priority indoor health care services worth Rs: 250,000 per year.
4. Summary of secondary and priority health care services and their sublimit are mentioned in Annex I.
5. Exclusion list for secondary health care services is present in Annex II.
6. Inclusion list for 7 priority health care services is present in Annex III.
7. As per the directives of Prime Minister, Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination is working to expand the horizon of Prime Minister’s National Health Program in all districts of Pakistan. For the purpose a new Phase-II PC-I of the program has been submitted to Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform. This Phase II PC-1 of Pak Rs: 33.9 Billion for the period of 5 years has been approved in CDWP meeting on 19th October 2017. The PC-1 will now be presented in upcoming ECNEC for final approval.
(b) The program is being implemented in phases. In first phase the program is being implemented in 40 districts across Pakistan. As on 23rd October 2017 Prime Minister’s National Health Program has started service delivery to 1.4 million enrolled beneficiary families in 24 districts of Pakistan which includes Muzaffarabad, Kotli (AJK), Quetta, Loralai, Lasbela, Gwadar, Kech (Balochistan), Khyber Agency, Bajour Agency (FATA), Diamer, Skardu (GB), Islamabad (ICT), Kohat Mardon, Abbottabad, Chitral (KP), Khanewal, Narowal, Sargodha, Rahim Yar Khan (Punjab), Thatta, Sujawal, Tando Mohammad Khan and Hyderabad (Sindh).
In addition to above, activities to start beneficiary enrolment and implementation of Prime Minister’s National Health Program has been started in 16 new districts. These districts are Killa Abdullah, Khuzdar (Balochistan) , Layyah, Muzaffargarh, Vehari, Lodhran, Multan, Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Mianwali, Bhakkar, Khushab, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Hafizabad (Punjab) and Jacobabad (Sindh).
After the approval of Phase II PC-1, Prime Minister’s National Health Program will be implemented in all districts of Pakistan focusing of poor families. 12 I - x e n n A 13 Annex-II 14 Annex-III 15
*Question No. 130 Senator Ahmed Hassan: (Notice received on 03-10-2017 at 10:50 a.m.)
Will the Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development be pleased to state the number of Pakistani workers sent to the Gulf countries during the last four years with year wise and country wise break up?
Pir Syed Sadaruddin Shah Rashidi: The information regarding the number of Pakistani workers sent to the Gulf countries during the last four years with wise and country wise break up are as following:— 16 *Question No. 131 Senator Muhammad Talha Mahmood: (Notice received on 03-10-2017 at 11:30 a.m.)
Will the Minister for Maritime Affairs be pleased to state:
(a) the amount allocated for non-developmental expenditures of the Ministry of Ports and Shipping, its attached departments, sub-ordinate offices, autonomous and semi-autonomous organizations and corporations during the fiscal year 2015-16; and
(b) the steps being taken by the Government to reduce the non- developmental expenditures of the said Ministry, its attached departments, subordinate offices, autonomous and semi- autonomous organizations and corporations?
Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo: (a) During the fiscal year 2015-16 original budget allocation for non-development was Rs. 665 Million for 25 budgetary units. Rs. 30 million supplementary grant was issued for Pakistan Marine Academy (Civil works). Final grant was 695.023 million out of which Rs. 675.872 million was expenditure incurred and Rs. 19.150 Million Saving was occurred in June,2016.
As regards the expenditure of autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies out of non-development budget, it is stated that no budget allocation has been made to Port Qasim Authority, Karachi Port Trust and Pakistan National Shipping Corporation.
(b) Austerity measures issued by Finance Division to control the expenditure under 11 different Heads were implemented by this Ministry strictly. Copy of Austerity measurers for fiscal year 2015-16 is attached as Annex-I. 17 Annex-I 18
*Question No. 132 Senator Muhammad Talha Mahmood: (Notice received on 03-10-2017 at 11:30 a.m.)
Will the Minister for Communications be pleased to state the date of launching work on the project for construction of Kalat-Quetta- Chaman section of N-25 indicating also the amount allocated and spent so far, percentage of work completed and time by which the remaining work will be completed on the same?
Hafiz Abdul Kareem: The construction works on Kalat-Quetta-Chaman section of N25 commenced in March-2006. The project was awarded in four packages, out of which two (02) were completed in November-2010 and remaining two (02) have been completed since August-2016 with USAID grant financing. Requested details are as under: 19
*Question No. 133 Senator Chaudhary Tanvir Khan: (Notice received on 06-10-2017 at 09:20 a.m.)
Will the Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training be pleased to state:
(a) the number of persons working in the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education on regular, adhoc and contract basis with grade wise break up; and
(b) the names, grades, place of domicile and educational qualifications of the persons appointed in the said board during the last three years?
Mr. Muhammad Baligh-ur-Rehman: (a) Presently 444 persons are working in the Federal Board of Intermediate & Secondary ‘Education. Grade- wise breakup is enclosed at Annexure-I.
(b) The names, grades, place of domicile and education qualifications of the persons appointed in the FBISE during the last three years is enclosed at Annexure-II. 20 21
*Question No. 134 Senator Chaudhary Tanvir Khan: (Notice received on 06-10-2017 at 09:20 a.m.)
Will the Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training be pleased to state the names and educational qualifications of the faculty members and administrative staff working in the public sector universities in Islamabad?
Mr. Muhammad Baligh-ur-Rehman: A total of 4784 Faculty Members and 5704 Administrative Staff are working in the Public Sector Universities in Islamabad. A consolidated list containing the names and educational qualifications of the faculty members and administrative staff is attached at Annex-I.
(Annexure has been placed on the Table of the House as well as Library.) 22 *Question No. 135 Senator Dr. Jehanzeb Jamaldini: (Notice received on 09-10-2017 at 12:50 p.m.)
Will the Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination be pleased to state:
(a) the number of licenses issued by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan to local and international pharmaceutical companies for manufacturing of drugs in the country during the last five years with year-wise breakup; and
(b) whether the said Authority collects any fee for issuance of those licenses, if so, the amount so collected by that Authority during the said period with year wise breakup?
Mrs. Saira Afzal Tarar: (a) Number of drug manufacturing licenses issued by Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan During last five years (2013-2017) —————————————————————————————— Year —————————————————————————————— Assignment Name 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017* Total —————————————————————————————— New Drug Manufacturing 15 19 29 16 20 99 Licenses issued by Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan —————————————————————————————— *data in column 2017 is upto September, 2017.
(b) Yes, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan receives/collects fee for grant of Drug Manufacturing Licenses as per S.R.O No.1117 (1)/2012 dated 10-09-2012, the details are as follows:—
———————————————————————————————————————————————— Year ———————————————————————————————————————————————— Assignment Name 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017* Total ———————————————————————————————————————————————— Fee Collected for DML Rs.300,000 Rs.330,000 Rs.1,420,000 Rs.2,780,000 Rs.1,020,000 Rs.5,850,000 ———————————————————————————————————————————————— *data in column 2017 is upto September, 2017. 23 *Question No. 136 Senator Muhammad Talha Mahmood: (Notice received on 10-10-2017 at 09:35 a.m.)
Will the Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development be pleased to state:
(a) the names of addresses of affectees of Kuwait-Iraq war whose claims were approved but payment has not been made to them so far, indicating also the amount claims approved in each case; and
(b) the reasons for not making payment to the said affectees and the time by which the same will be made to them?
Pir Syed Sadaruddin Shah Rashidi: (a) All of the claims of Kuwait/ Iraq War 1990 effectees, which were approved by the United Nation Compensation Commission (UNCC) and whose genuineness of claims was proved, have been paid the amount of their claims till the end of year 2006.
(b) Nothing is outstanding against any claim and the UNCC closed their payment operations in July 2007. However due to protest / agitation of Kuwait / Iraq War 1990 affectees whose claims were late / time barred, the Honorable Supreme Court of Pakistan had taken Suo Moto Notice in 2009. After adjudicating / investigating the matter for about more than 5 years the case was disposed of on its merit on 24th June, 2014. The Apex Court with the consent of OPF had ordered to make payment of Interest / mark-up to the successful claimants. Amount of interest accrued on their claims have also been paid as per order of August Court except the cases which requires certain legal requirements i.e. Succession Certificates and Indemnity Bonds etc. due to death of the claimant. In this regards judgment of the Court and comprehensive brief are attached Annex-I & II respectively. 24 Annex-I 25 26 27 28 29 Annex-II 30 31
*Question No. 137 Senator Rozi Khan Kakar: (Notice received on 11-10-2017 at 04:30 p.m.)
Will the Minister for Communications be pleased to state the names, designations and place of posting of the persons presently working in the National Highway Authority on deputation basis?
Hafiz Abdul Kareem: At present, 38 No of officers/officials are working on deputation in NHA. Services of these officers/officials have been requisitioned on requirement basis as per NHA rules. This makes 1% of the total strength. The detail of officers/officials currently working on deputation along with designation and place of posting is attached as Annex-A. 32 Annex-A 33 34
*Question No. 138 Senator Rozi Khan Kakar: (Notice received on 11-10-2017 at 04:30 p.m.)
Will the Minister for Communications be pleased to state whether it is a fact that the National Highway Authority invited applications for appointment against the posts of Secretary, NHA and four General Managers through an advertisement some 10 months ago, if so, the present status of the same?
Hafiz Abdul Kareem: Yes. It is correct that National Highway Authority advertised these posts on 1607-2016. 35 Before the process was completed, some officers of NHA fled Appeal No. 1772 (R) CS/2016 in PST and writ petition No. 3705/2016 in IHC respectively.
FST granted status quo in the matter vide its order dated 05-01-2017 which is still pending and is sub-judice. The case in INC is also sub-judice where the applicants have been pressing for their promotions before the process of recruitment can be initiated.
Therefore, the recruitment process has been pended as a result of the litigation and subsequent status quo(s) granted by the learned courts.
*Question No. 139 Senator Chaudhary Tanvir Khan: (Notice received on 12-10-2017 at 09:50 a.m.)
Will the Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination be pleased to state:
(a) the names of firms and their owners who have been allotted quota for import of Ephedrine during the last ten year;
(b) the criteria laid down for allotment of quota for the import of the said item; and
(c) the quantity and value of Ephedrine imported by those firms during the said period with year wise break up indicating also the names of suppliers in each case?
Mrs. Saira Afzal Tarar: (a) The list of the firms and their owners names are annexed as “A” to whom Ephedrine quota was allocated during last 10 years.
(b) For the quota allocation the firm must have valid Drug Manufacturing License and valid registration of the drug containing Ephedrine.
Before devolution of Ministry of Health Director General. Ministry of Health was authorized to allocate quota of controlled substances under the delegation of powers by Ministry of Narcotics Control, including import and export of these substances. 36
After devolution of the Ministry of Health, in August, 2011 Ministry of Narcotics Control constituted a Committee consisting of Secretary, Ministry of Narcotics Control, as its Chairman, Director General ANF as ‘ member and Director (Controlled Drugs), as Member/ Secretary for Allocation of Quota of Controlled Substances to Pharmaceutical firms (Annex-B).
(c) Total actual quantity of Ephedrine HCI imported by these firms is placed at Annex-C.
The prices of the raw materials (API) are not regulated by DRAP and the firms import/purchase the raw material on competitive prices. However, the average price form China was 43US$ per Kg and 45US$ per Kg from Singapore, based on quantities and freight variations. 37 38
Grand total of Ephedrine HCI allocated quota during last 10 year = 7040.075 kg 39 40 41 42 *Question No. 140 Senator Col. (R) Syed Tahir Hussain Mashhadi: (Notice received on 13-10-2017 at 11:40 a.m.)
Will the Minister for Inter Provincial Coordination be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Pakistan Cricket Board has taken notice of the poor performance shown by the Pakistan Women’s Cricket Team in the recent World Cup held in England, if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether the PCB has also taken notice of the performance of tour selection Committee of the said team to make them accountable on their poor selection policy; and
(c) the steps being taken by PCB to strengthen the structure and training of that team?
Mr. Raiz Hussain Pirzada: (a) PCB held a performance review of the poor performance of the Pakistan Women’s Cricket Team in the recently concluded World Cup in England. After reviewing the performance of the Team it was decided that the Women’s Cricket structure needs to be revamped in order to improve the overall performance of players both at domestic and International level. In addition the performance of each and every Pakistani Player was carefully scrutinized. Not only was their performance reviewed for this particular event but their stats for the past many years were also analyzed. Looking at the past performance of these players it was decided to give more opportunities to youngsters and try and build the bench strength for International events.
After the mentioned scrutiny, Sana Mir as captain was replaced by Bismah Maroof. Nain Abidi, Asmavia lqbal and many other senior players were not considered for the Pakistan vs New Zealand Women Cricket Series to be held in Sharjah in Nov, 2017. There was also a change made in the administrative setup of Women’s Wing to provide a new direction to women’s cricket.
(b) As mentioned above the performance of everyone involved with the team was scrutinized. The selection Committee was dissolved and will be replaced by a new committee. The head coach and Manager both were relieved of their duties and have been replaced.
Since the Pakistan Women Team is in the rebuilding process PCB is making every effort to improve the overall structure of women’s cricket. It is pertinent to 43 mention that 4 games out of the 7 matches played in the world cup were very close and the result could have gone in any teams favor. The results also show that the Pakistan Team lost games at specific moments which means that with better planning we have the potential to beat any team of the world.
(c) Following steps are taken for building up a strong National Team:
PCB has appointed a foreign coach on trial basis for the Pakistan Women Cricket Team for the Pakistan vs New Zealand Women Cricket Series to be held in Sharjah in Nov, 2017. At the conclusion of the event his appointment will be reviewed and PCB will be in a better position to decide of what is ideal for the team for a longer tenure.
The domestic structure of women’s cricket is being revamped in order to find young talented players and to broaden the existing pool of women players. In this regard as per the new structure 5 Cricket Academies are planned to be set up. These academies will be run by professional personnel whose main role will be to unearth young talent in every region. Furthermore the academies will give an opportunity to every player to practice on a daily basis and improve her skill and overall game.
Trials will be held in every region in order to explore new talent. The new structure will help in the development at grass root level.
Ex Pakistan players will be inducted into the new set up in order to work with the youngsters and improve their overall performance. We have had youngsters like Diana Baig, Nashra Sandhu, Waheeda Akhtar and Maham Tariq who have performed extremely well in the past and with the new structure being introduced, PCB is hopeful that the standard of women’s cricket will surely improve and the overall results will be better.
*Question No. 141 Senator Col. (R) Syed Tahir Hussain Mashhadi: (Notice received on 13-10-2017 at 11:40 a.m.)
Will the Minister for Foreign Affairs be pleased to state whether there is any proposal under consideration of the Government to get membership of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, if so, when? 44 Khawaja Muhammad Asif: Pakistan is not geographically part of South East Asia and cannot apply for membership of Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). However, Pakistan has been Sectoral Dialogue Partner (SDP) of ASEAN and is seeking status of Full Dialogue Partner (FDP).
*Question No. 142 Senator Col. (R) Syed Tahir Hussain Mashhadi: (Notice received on 13-10-2017 at 11:40 a.m.)
Will the Minister for Postal Services be pleased to state:
(a) the details of services being provided by the Pakistan Post;
(b) the details of increase made in the charges of each of the said services during the last four years;
(c) the income earned through and amount spent on the provision of those services during the said period with year wise break up; and
(d) the steps being taken by the Government to improve the said services?
Moulana Ameer Zaman: (a) Pakistan Post is providing various services to its customers throughout the country.
The list of services being provided is enclosed al Annex-A.
(b) the list of charges increased during last four years is available at Annex-B
(c) the summary of income (revenue) earned and expenditure incurred by the Pakistan Post Office Department (PPOD) during the last four years is given below:— 45 (Figures in Million Rs.) —————————————————————————————— Income Expenditure Year (Revenue) incurred by earned by the the PPOD. PPOD. —————————————————————————————— 2013-2014 9,126.597 15,715.137
2014-2015 9,673.512 16,004.578
2015-2016 10,231.383 17,720.307
2016-2017 11,226.489 20,533.037 —————————————————————————————— The year-wise and head-wise breakup of income (revenue) earned and expenditure incurred by the Pakistan Post Office Department during the last four years is given in attached Annex-C.
(d) The steps being taken to improve the services are available at Annex-D. 46 47 48 49 50 51
ISLAMABAD: AMJED PERVEZ, The 31st October, 2017. Secretary.
PCPPI—4525(17) Senate—31-10-2017—275.