1 (31st 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

Friday, the 2nd April, 2021

30. *Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Behan: (Deferred during 29th Session)

Will the Minister for Aviation Division be pleased to state the reasons of shifting the PIA Head Office and other relevant offices from Karachi to Islamabad?

Minister for Aviation Division (Mr. Ghulam Sarwar Khan): The factual position is that the Head Office of PIACL is in Karachi and not being shifted to Islamabad. PIA is in the process of improving and restructuring the airline to make it a profitable venture despite severe constraints particularly COVID 19 Pandemic that has impacted airlines industry including PIACL. Presently, PIA is operating maximum flights from North of Pakistan, therefore, to meet the operational requirements, few departments have been shifted to Islamabad to run the operation smoothly.

31. *Ch. Muhammad Barjees Tahir: (Deferred during 29th Session)

Will the Minister In-charge of the Establishment Division be pleased to state:

(a) the employment generation programmes of the Government in the country, the details thereof;

(b) the number of employment opportunities generated by Federal Government during the last two years alongwith province-wise break-up of the same; and 2 (c) the province-wise details of fields, in which employment generated and cost incurred thereon by the Government in the said process?

Transferred to Planning Development and Special Initiatives Division for answer on Next Rota Day.

32. *Dr. Shazia Sobia Aslam Soomro: (Deferred during 29th Session)

Will the Minister for Aviation Division be pleased to state:

(a) whether it is a fact that PIA’s total debt was reported to be 400 billion Pakistani rupees by June 30th, 2019 against the airline, whereas currently losses are reported as 6.3 billion rupees per month;

(b) the details of annual profit/loss incurred by PIA during the last three years; and

(c) what steps are being taken by the Government to enhance performance of National carriers PIA?

Minister for Aviation Division (Mr. Ghulam Sarwar Khan): (a) PIA’s total debt as of 30th June, 2019 was Rs. 286.01 Billion instead of Rs. 400 Billion that includes GoP guaranteed loans, Loans from GoP, Loans on PIA Balance Sheet and Markup whereas average monthly loss for the year 2019 remained Rs. 644 Million.

(b) Year wise profit/ loss incurred by PIA during the last three years is as under: —————————————————————————————— Operating Losses PKR in Million —————————————————————————————— 2018 (32,081) 2019 (7,723) 2020 (till September, 2020) (8,702) —————————————————————————————— 3 (c) PIA is incurring losses for the past few years due to legacy loans. The present Government is very keen to make it self­reliant. Efforts are underway to improve the financial health of the Corporation by reducing its losses/deficit through various means. Route rationalization exercise has been carried out. Loss making routes have been closed and flights on profitable routes have been added which has resulted in reduction of losses. Financial & HR restructuring is being carried out. In line with the HR restructuring process, Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) was offered to reduce HR cost. 1925 employees have opted for VSS. Airline’s core and non­core functions are being separated for which process has been started. • The current Management of PIA is working tirelessly for the revival of the airline in a phased manner. All the steps have been taken by Management to ensure discipline, performance, improving governance of the organization, focus on aggressive sale and marketing, closure of loss making routes and expansion of productive routes. Agreements involving financial cost have been reviewed in line with the best industry practices.

33. *Mr. Muhammad Afzal Khokhar: (Deferred during 29th Session)

Will the Minister In-charge of the Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division be pleased to state:

(a) whether it is a fact that large number of people, who are living their lives below the poverty line in the country, either could not get registered themselves in BISP or any other Government programme of different nomenclature;

(b) whether it is also a fact that the peoples were deleted from such programmes set for such programmes;

(c) whether it is further a fact that such deserving people neither have any right of appeal of their rejection from aforesaid programmes nor prudent data upon which their applications are rejected duly re-verified by third party;

(d) if the answers to part (a) and (b) above are in affirmative, what steps are being taken by the Government to give right of appeal 4 to such people, re-verify already complied data and revisit benchmarks set out for such programms in order to provide benefit to more deserving peoples?

Minister In-charge of the Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division: (a) Beneficiaries of Ehsaas Kafaalat Programme (EKP) are identified/ selected through scientific mode of National Socio Economic (NSER) survey based on Proxy Means Test (PMT) that determines the welfare status of the household on a scale between 0­100. The PMT cut­off score for eligibility is decided on the basis of available fiscal space and all families falling under the approved PMT cut­off score are being provided cash assistance under EKP. The door to door NSER survey, 2019­21 is currently ongoing which is expected to be completed by June, 2021. Ehsaas Registration desks are also being established at district level for those persons who are either missed during door to door survey or want to update the particulars already provided in survey exercise.

(b) Majority of the beneficiaries of EKP were identified/selected through NSER Survey carried out in 2010­11, and the remaining beneficiaries have been identified/selected through ongoing NSER survey. As the demographic and socio economic status as well as the composition of households change with time, some of the beneficiaries who are eligible under NSER survey, 2010­11 will not be declared eligible under ongoing NSER survey, as they would have become relatively better­off. It is also pertinent to mention that as per policy decision taken by BISP Board as well as approved by the Federal Cabinet, BISP beneficiary profiling exercise was conducted in coordination with NADRA. As a result of this exercise, around 830,000 beneficiaries were exited from the programme who fell under any of the following categories;

i. Traveled abroad (self) once ii. Traveled abroad (spouse) once iii. Traveled abroad (self) more than once iv. Traveled abroad (spouse) more than once v. One or more vehicles registered (self) vi. One or more vehicles registered (spouse) vii. Average monthly PTCL bill of more than PKR 1,000 (self) viii. Average monthly PTCL bill of more than PKR 1,000 (spouse) ix. Applied passport via executive centers (self) x. Applied passport via executive centers (spouse) 5 xi. Beneficiary’s three or more family members applied CNIC with executive fee xii. Government employee (self) xiii. Government employee (spouse) xiv. High income (Self) xv. High income (Spouse) xvi. Employees of public sector companies/corporations (self) xvii. Employees of public sector companies/corporations (spouse)

(c) The above mentioned 830,000 beneficiaries were excluded from the programme after extensive analysis of various databases by NADRA. However, an appeal mechanism for such blocked beneficiaries is currently being prepared. Once approved by BISP Board, the same will be implemented and all such beneficiaries will be able to lodge their appeals for review.

(d) As above.

34. *Shazia Marri: (Deferred during 29th Session)

Will the Minister for Aviation Division be pleased to state:

(a) whether it is a fact that a United Nation recognized body of Aviation Industry has recently cautioned Pakistan International Airline and Civil Aviation Authority to fix matters ancillary thereto;

(b) whether country has to face the situation of restrictions, which may also include complete ban on aviation activities in the country; if so, the details thereof; and

(c) what corrective measures are being taken by the Government in this regard?

Minister for Aviation Division (Mr. Ghulam Sarwar Khan): (a) Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) is signatory to International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO). ICAO regularly monitors and audits all member states. Similarly, European Commission (EC) also monitors that States ensure safety oversight of air carriers registered in their countries. 6 In wake of the Pilot license issue in June 2020, ICAO and EC inquired about the details and raised number of concern.

PCAA immediately established contact with these organizations and maintained close liaison. In order to satisfy them, PCAA responded to all the questions and provided required documents and evidences within given timelines. Both ICAO and EASA appreciated the efforts and coordination of PCAA in providing the required details.

The last response to significant safety concerns raised by ICAO was submitted by PCAA on 27th Jan, 2021 which has been reviewed by ICAO. As per ICAO procedures, complete closure of safety concerns is subject to validation / audit.

ICAO has scheduled an audit from 05 to 15th July, 2021. However, EC has not yet informed about their schedule.

(b) The only restriction imposed by ICAO was that PCAA suspends the issuance of new pilot licenses. It is expected that this restriction will be removed after the validation audit in July 2021.

Apart from this, European Union Air Safety Agency (EASA) suspended the Third Country Operator (TCO) authorization to PIA in July 2020. The suspension was based on concerns regarding implementation of Safety Management System by PIA as well as pilot licenses issue.

It is expected that ICAO audit from 05 to 15th July 2021 will address the concerns ICAO as well as EC and will result in lifting the restrictions.

(c) Government has taken major initiatives in this regard, as stated below:

 The Federal Cabinet has approved the segregation of Regulatory and Service provider authorities. This was an outstanding observation from International regulatory authorities.

 Regulatory division has been restructured into an efficient and internationally compliant entity.

 All observations raised by ICAO and EC have been addressed which will be validated during audit. 7

 In order to strengthen the Regulatory oversight, major steps are also being taken to improve examination system, implementation of Safety Management System by all airlines, inspection of aircraft etc.

 These initiatives will improve and strengthen the Regulatory role of PCAA to become fully compliant with International standards.

39. *Ms. Naz Baloch: (Deferred during 29th Session)

Will the Minister for Aviation Division be pleased to state the amount of loss to the national carrier (PIA) due to the imposition of ban by the European Union?

Minister for Aviation Division (Mr. Ghulam Sarwar Khan): Since actual revenue loss due to EU ban cannot be determined exactly, however, it may please be noted that PIA earned a revenue of PKR 3.72 billion on European sectors against the cost of PKR 4.78 billion, hence a loss of PKR 1.06 billion in July­December 2019. Whereas on UK sector, PIA earned a revenue of PKR 15.78 billion against the cost of PKR 16.06 billion hence a loss of PKR 2.88 billion in July­December 2019. We can safely say that same amount of revenue has been lost during July­December, 2020, the period since imposition of EU/UK ban on PIA flight operation.

42. *Mr. James Iqbal: (Deferred during 29th Session)

Will the Minister for Aviation Division be pleased to state:

(a) the number of non-functional airports across the country including Bannu and Sargodha airport; if so, the reasons thereof;

(b) since when these airports are non-functional;

(c) whether there is any proposal under consideration of the Government to make functional to said airports;

(d) if so, the time by which such airports will be made functional? 8 Minister for Aviation Division (Mr. Ghulam Sarwar Khan): (a) A complete overview of the PCAA airports across the country (List attached):

 Total airports : 42  Operational Airport : 27 o International Airports : 12 o Domestic Airports : 15  Scaled down Airports : 06  Closed Airports : 11

The Technical term used for non­functional airports is either Scaled Down or Closed Airports. The Airports in question i.e. the former location (Sargodha) does not have any PCAA presence, however has an operational PAF Base Mushaf, the latter location Bannu has a scaled down status due to commercial non­viability of the Airlines.

(b) Bannu Airport was declared Scaled down way back in 2002.

(c) Currently there is no proposal under consideration to operationalize Bannu Airport.

(d) As stated earlier at present there is no such proposal under consideration, however, if the location is deemed commercially viable by the airline in due course and activation is ordered as standard operating procedure, a scaled down airport can be up scaled or operationalize on 90 days notice.

Annex ————————————————————————————————————— S.No OPERATIONAL SCALED CLOSED INTERNATIONAL DOMESTIC DOWN ————————————————————————————————————— 1. JIAP, Karachi Hyderabad Khuzdar Jiwani PN 2. AIIAP, Lahore Moenjodaro Muzaffarabad Ormara 3. IIAP, Islamabad Sukkur Rawalakot Sibi 4. BKIAP, Peshawar Dalbandin Bannu Mangla 5. Quetta Panjgur Parachinar Kohat 6. Multan Zhob Saidu Sharif Bhagtanwala 7. Faisalabad Nawabshah Mianwali 8. R.Y.Khan Walton Sehwan Sharif 9. Turbat Pasni Mir Pur Khas 10. Gawadar Bahawalpur Talhar 11. Sialkot* D.G. Khan Jacobababd ————————————————————————————————————— 9

————————————————————————————————————— S.No. OPERATIONAL SCALED CLOSED INTERNATIONAL DOMESTIC DOWN ————————————————————————————————————— 12. BBIAP D.I.Khan 13. Chitral 14. Skardu 15. Gilgit ————————————————————————————————————— Total 12 15 6 11 ————————————————————————————————————— * Private Airport

 Total Airports : 44  Total Operational : 27 o International : 12 o Domestic : 15  Scaled down : 06  Closed : 11

46. *Engr. Sabir Hussain Kaim Khani: (Deferred during 29th Session)

Will the Minister In-charge of the Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division be pleased to state the details of the persons of District Hyderabad benefitted from different schemes during the last three years alongwith year-wise break-up?

Minister In-charge of the Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division: BENAZIR INCOME SUPPORT PROGRAMME BISP):

Financial year­wise summary of disbursements made by BISP to beneficiaries belonging to District Hyderabad, under various initiatives, during last three years is as under:— ——————————————————————————————————————————— Ehsaas Kafaalat Emergency Ehsaas Cash Programme (EECP) S# Financial Year No. of Amount No. of Amount Beneficiaries Disbursed in Beneficiaries Disbursed in Rs. Rs. ——————————————————————————————————————————— 1 2017­18 54,643 1,066,207,402 ­ ­ 2 2018­19 54,220 1,097,355,161 ­ ­

3 2019­20 45,518 937,058,000 196,941 2,562,713,000 ——————————————————————————————————————————— 10 PAKISTAN BAIT-UL-MAL (PBM):

The detail of number of persons (P) of District Hyderabad benefited from different schemes under Individual Financial Assistance (IFA) Schemes of PBM and amount disbursed during the last three years along with year­wise break­up is as under: ————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Special Total Count of Education General Medical Friend S/No. ————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Years No. Amount No. Amount in No. Amount in No. Amount in No. Amount in of (P) in Rs. of (P) Rs. of (P) Rs. of (P) Rs. of (P) Rs. ————————————————————————————————————————————————————— 2017- 4 103,245 242 4,570,000 32 6,110,545 34 355,000 312 11,138,790 18 2018- 3 71,395 8 160,000 51 10,552,175 0 ­ 62 10,783,570 19 2019- 12 240,710 40 1,440,016 73 15,730,697 25 280,000 150 17,691,423 20 2020- 12 225,057 42 1,005,000 79 14,428,234 71 815,000 204 16,473,291 21 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Grand 31 640,407 332 7,175,016 235 46,821,651 130 1,450,000 728 56,087,074 Total ————————————————————————————————————————————————————— PAKISTAN POVERTY ALLEVIATION FUND (PPAF):

Interest Free Loan (IFL) Programme:

• The Prime Minister of Pakistan launched the Interest Free Loan (IFL) Programme under Ehsaas on July 5, 2019 which was organized by Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) at PM Office, Islamabad.

• As many as 3.8 million interest free loans will be provided (approximately 80,000 loans in each month) during next 4 years benefiting 2.28 million households. These targets are based on the loan tenure of 12 months.

Details of IFL in District Hyderabad:

• Under Ehsaas, PPAF is providing interest free loans in District Hyderabad. During last 19 months (July 2019 to January 2021), PPAF has disbursed an amount of Rs.42.03 million to 1,319 borrowers (61% loans to women). 11 • Following is the requisite detail of year­wise break­up of the interest free loan disbursed: ————————————————————————————————————— Progress of IFL Program in Hyderabad ————————————————————————————————————— S. FY 2019-20 FY 2020 -21 No. Particulars Men Women Total Men Women Total ————————————————————————————————————— 1 Number of Loans 329 532 861 185 273 458 Disbursed to Borrowers

2 Amount Disbursed to 9.67 16.8 26.47 6.16 9.40 15.56 Borrowers (in Million Rs.) ————————————————————————————————————— 48. *Ms. Tahira Aurangzeb: (Deferred during 29th Session) Will the Minister for Aviation Division be pleased to state: (a) the income earned by PIA Rosevelt Hotel, USA during the last six years; and (b) the head-wise, break-up of total amount incurred thereon?

Minister for Aviation Division (Mr. Ghulam Sarwar Khan): (a) & (b) The income earned by the PIA Rosevelt Hotel, USA during the last six years and the head­wise, break­up of total amount incurred is placed at Annex-I. (Annexure has been placed in the National Assembly Library)

49. *Ms. Naz Baloch: (Deferred during 29th Session)

Will the Minister for Aviation Division be pleased to state:

(a) the number of PIA staff members have been laid off under the Voluntary Separation Schemes; and (b) what perks and benefits have been given to those officers? 12 Minister for Aviation Division (Mr. Ghulam Sarwar Khan): (a) It is apprised that total 1925 employees opted the Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) from PIACL.

(b) VSS package has been designed based upon the length of service of regular employees commensurate to their basic pay. Moreover, following terminal benefits are also included:

i. Medical (Present value of pre­determined rate) ii. No ticket/ passage after VSS iii. Pension (Present value) iv. Gratuity & Commutation (As per rules) v. Leave encashment (Remaining privilege leave balance) vi. Provident Fund [Self + PIA contribution + Profit (Entire balance)]

54. *Mr. Muhammad Afzal Khokhar: (Deferred during 29th Session) Will the Minister for Aviation Division be pleased to state: (a) the total amount of loss suffered by PIA till date during the tenure of the incumbent Government; and (b) whether the Airplane of PIA has returned from Malaysia; if so, the amount paid in this regard? Minister for Aviation Division (Mr. Ghulam Sarwar Khan): (a) PIACL’s total losses from July 2018 onward are as follows:— —————————————————————————————— Total Losses-Years PKR In Million —————————————————————————————— July­December 2018 (34.9) 2019 (55.4) 2020 till September, 2020 (39.5) —————————————————————————————— Present Government took over in August 2018. Since books are maintained on quarterly, half yearly and yearly basis, hence, exact figure from August 2018 to December 2018 cannot be presented at this moment. Therefore, July­December 2018 has been calculated by subtracting total operating losses reported in June 2018 from the total operating losses for the year ended December 31, 2018. 13 (b) The airplane has returned from Malaysia. PIA has paid $ 11.5 Million (approx.) in this regard.

56. *Syed Agha Rafiullah: (Deferred during 29th Session)

Will the Minister for Aviation Division be pleased to state:

(a) the total number of Pilots of PIA, who have been removed from their services due to fake educational credentials since August, 2018;

(b) whether procedural formalities were fulfilled prior to removing them from their services;

(c) the year of appointment of each of above;

(d) whether the educational credentials were verified from the respective educational institutions, at the time of appointment of each pilot; if so, the details thereof;

(e) whether administration of PIA held the accountable/responsible; and

(f) whether such appointments were made without verifying their educational credentials; if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons thereof?

Minister for Aviation Division (Mr. Ghulam Sarwar Khan): (a) Total seven (7) pilots have been removed from service due to fake educational credentials.

(b) Proper procedure was followed to prosecute them on account of fake educational documents, i.e. Show Cause Notices were issued to them and they also submitted their replies in response to Show Cause Notice. Disciplinary proceedings were initiated against them after information received from concerned board/universities regarding authenticity of their educational documents.

(c) Year of appointment of the pilots is given below: 14

————————————————————————————————————— S. Name P. No. Designation Year of No. Appoint ————————————————————————————————————— 1 Shahzad Aziz 47393 Captain B­777 1988 2 Syed Turab Ali Bukhari 49255 Captain B­777 1990 3 Kashan Dodhy 54913 Captain A­320 1996 4 Asad Ilyas 64051 First Officer 2009 5 Fawaz Naveed Khan 64722 First Officer 2010 6 Sabir ur Rehman 64733 First Officer 2010 7 Sarmad Rasheed Rizvi 66936 First Officer 2013 ————————————————————————————————————— (d) It is important to mention here that at the time of their appointment educational documents were not verified. This process was started at later stage.

(e) & (f) As per PIA’s Administration, all those officials who were accountable for such inductions (employees having fake educational credentials) in PIA have been retired and no more serving in PIA. Further, PIA also forward and being forwarded all the Fake Degree cases to FIA for Criminal proceedings.

As far as the educational credentials verification is concerned, from the year 2014 onwards the verification of educational documents has been completed. Currently, all the employment confirmations are being made subject to the verification of educational credentials from the concerned institutes.

57. *Sardar Ayaz Sadiq: (Deferred during 29th Session)

Will the Minister In-charge of the Establishment Division be pleased to state:

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

(b) the detail of teaching faculty of said institutions alongwith their qualifications and experience; 15 (c) the syllabus being taught in said institutions;

(d) the institution and post-wise number of employees who have been trained during the financial years 2018-19 and 2019-20;

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

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

Minister In-charge of the Establishment Division: (a)

 National School of Public Policy (NSPP) As per organizational structure of NSPP it has two types of institutions:— (a) Integral Units i. National Management College (NMC) ii. National Institute of Public Policy (NIPP) iii. Executive Development Institute (EDI) (b) Constituent Units i. National Institute of Management, Lahore ii. National Institute of Management, Karachi iii. National Institute of Management, Peshawar iv. National Institute of Management, Quetta v. National Institute of Management, Islamabad

 Civil Services Academy (CSA)  Pakistan Academy for Rural Development (PARD)  Secretariat Training Institute (STI)  AHK National Centre for Rural Development (NCRD) (b) The details of teaching faculty of NSPP, CSA, PARD, STI, NCRD and FPSC alongwith their qualification and experience is placed at Annex-I.

(c) (1) NSPP: The syllabus of 112th National Management Course (NMC), 27th Senior Management Course (SMC) and 29th Mid­Career Management Course (MCMC) being taught in NSPP are placed at Annex-II, III & IV. 16 (2) CSA: The Syllabus of STP being taught in CSA is follow:— i. Public Administration and Management Part­I and II ii. Economic Development and Social Change iii. Local Government system part­I & II iv. Public Financial Management v. Urban Development vi. Qanoon e Shahadat vii. Constitution, Administrative and special laws viii. Land Revenue Laws ix. Civil Procedure court, 1908, Pakistan Penal code, Criminal Procedure Court x. Punjab Language, Sindhi Language, Pushto Language. (3) PARD: Main focus of the Academy is on rural development and local administration through training and research. Following disciplines are included in the scope of training and research: i. Public Administration / Management ii. Local Governance iii. Rural Sociology iv. Development Planning v. Social Psychology vi. Agriculture & Environment vii. Community Development viii. Education & Communication ix. Gender & Development etc. (4) STI: Syllabus of Specialized Programme and courses conducted by Executive Training Programme and Staff Development at STI is as under: i. Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 ii. Rules of Business, 1973 iii. Secretariat Instructions & Office Procedures (Paper­I) iv. Secretariat Instructions & Office Procedures (Paper­II) v. Secretariat Noting and Drafting vi. Government and Administration vii. Service Laws & Rules (Paper­I) viii. Service Laws & Rules (Paper­II) ix. Financial Rules (Paper­I) x. Financial Rules (Paper­II) 17 (5) NCRD: The main themes of training programmes include all those subjects that are relevant to rural development directly or indirectly. They are Good Governance, Local Government System, Poverty Alleviation, women Empowerment, Disaster Management, Natural Resources Management, Project Management and Environmental Concerns in Development (Annex-V).

(d) The institution wise details placed at Annex-VI.

(e) (1) NSPP: The details of total expenditure incurred on NSPP & its Units during the financial years 2018­19 and 2019­20 is as under:— —————————————————————————————— Financial Year Amount Rs. (In Million) —————————————————————————————— 2018­19 Rs. 986,000 2019­20 Rs. 1127,318 —————————————————————————————— (2) CSA: The expenditure for the financial year 2018­19 & 2019­20: ————————————————————————————————————— Years Heads Budget received Total expenditure ————————————————————————————————————— 2018­19 Pay of Officers 179,400,000 179,400,000 Pay of Other Staff 85,700,000 85,700,000 Regular Allowances 144,000,000 144,000,000 Other Allowances 32,500,000 32,500,000 General 137,400,000 137,400,000 ————————————————————————————————————— Total 579,000,000 579,000,000 ————————————————————————————————————— 2019­20 Pay of Officers 187,550,000 187,550,000 Pay of Other Staff 89,000,000 89,000,000 Regular Allowances 167,000,000 167,000,000 Other Allowances 42,950,000 42,025,386 General 116,500,000 116,500,000 ————————————————————————————————————— Total 603,000,000 602,075,386 ————————————————————————————————————— (3) PARD: The expenditure occurred during the period is Rs. 19.433 million.

(4) STI: STI does not charge any fees from the Government officers and participants. All expenditure incurred on payment to Resource Persons was Rs. 808,164/­ and Rs. 728,000/­ in 2018­19 and 2019­20 respectively. 18 (5) AHK-NCRD: The head wise total expenditure incurred thereon; —————————————————————————————— Budget Expenditure —————————————————————————————— A 03901­ Training Rs. 244270 Rs. 251590/­ Training A 03919 Payment of Rs. 704,000 Rs. 650400/­ Guest Speakers A 03903 Seminar & Rs. 10,80,000 Rs. 985,996/­ Workshops —————————————————————————————— (f) Details placed at Annex-VII. (Annexures have been placed in the National Assembly Library)

70. *Ms. Shahida Rehmani: (Deferred during 29th Session) Will the Minister for Information and Broadcasting be pleased to state: (a) whether it is a fact that a telephone number was given in Prime Minister “Live Call Programme”; (b) whether it is also a fact that such number was of Election Commission; (c) if so, as to how those calls were received overthere to redress the problem of public?

Minister for Information and Broadcasting: (a) Yes. National Telecommunication Corporation had provided a telephone number for the Prime Minister’s call programme “Aap Ke Wazir­e­Azam Aapki Sath” (b) No. (c) No.

80. *Mr. Abdul Qadir Patel: (Deferred during 29th Session) Will the Minister In-charge of the Establishment Division be pleased to refer to Starred Question No.107 replied on 26-10-2020 and to state: 19 (a) whether Prime Minister of Pakistan intends to take an initiative to grant three years age relaxation to all citizen irrespective of sex, cast, creed or race for jobs in the institutions of Government, on the extreme compassionate grounds, considering the increasing ratio or rate of unemployment in the country; (b) if so, the details thereof; (c) if not, the reasons thereof?

Minister In-charge of the Establishment Division: (a) At present there is no proposal under consideration by the Government to increase the general relaxation in the age for Government jobs. In Federal Government Departments, 05 years general age relaxation is allowed to all candidates. In addition to this President or Prime Minister can grant 03 years age relaxation to an individual on extreme compassionate grounds.

(b) As stated above.

(c) As stated above.

58. *Syed Agha Rafiullah:

Will the Minister In-charge of the Establishment Division be pleased to state:

(a) whether it is a fact that Federal Employees Benevolent and Group Insurance Funds (FEB&GIF) has failed to automate record of each beneficiary of its schemes, make it available its latest status and update it in real-time on its website in light of provisions of Right of access to Information Act, 2017; if so, the reasons thereof; and

(b) time by which such record will be automated and available it on the website of the FEB&GIF in light of Right of Access to Information Act, 2017?

Minister In-charge of the Establishment Division: (a) Data processing of most of the welfare grant schemes like Educational Stipend, Marriage Grant, Benevolent Grant and Burial Grant etc. for the beneficiaries i.e. Federal Government Employees & their families is being done through 20 computer software module and some functions of the said module including “online grant application tracking of the welfare claims” are incomplete. One of the main causes of slow progress is delay in execution of project of software development. However, efforts are under way to complete the project at the earliest possible.

(b) Efforts are under way to make the updated status of the cases available online on the website of FEB&GIF and hopefully shall be completed within few months.

59. *Mr. Saad Waseem:

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

(a) whether PTA, being a regulator, has taken notice that signals of almost all cellular companies (licencee) are very weak in different localities/areas of NA-137, Kasur; if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether PTA has conducted any assessment in aforesaid constituency; if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons thereof; and

(c) what steps are being taken by the Government to pursue cellular companies to improve signals of cellular phone companies expeditiously?

Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Division: (a) Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), regularly monitors various Quality of Service (QoS) parameters but not limited to system generated values from Network Operation Center (NOC) and field surveys to ensure optimum level of signal quality. The system based assessment of QoS KPIs from Network Operation Center (NOC) of mobile operators shows satisfactory service quality of CMOs in District Kasur.

(b) In last two years, PTA has carried out QoS Surveys both jointly and as well as independently, in fifty­one (51) different cities of the country. Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOs) have adequate coverage in District Kasur with a total of six hundred fifty­five (655) sites/towers Annex-A. Quality of 21 Service (QoS) Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) extracted from Network Operation Centers (NOCs) of CMOs shows satisfactory service quality of CMOs in District Kasur, details of results are placed at Annex-B.

(c) Quarterly QoS Surveys are carried out throughout Pakistan including Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit Baltistan (GB). It is an ongoing activity being carried out continuously throughout the year. The QoS survey results are shared with companies for taking corrective measures which ensure provisioning of optimum signal levels and service quality to consumers. It is worth mentioning that in recent past, PTA has carried out QoS Surveys both jointly and as well as independently, in fifty­one (51) different cities of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh and Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan. PTA has also issued Show Cause Notices (SCNs) to PMCL (Jazz), PTML (Ufone), Telenor Pakistan and CMPak (ZonG) in June and July 2020 based upon the survey results of 3rd & 4th quarter 2019 and 1st quarter 2020, with the direction to improve service quality. In case of non­compliance with the direction of service improvement. PTA will impose fine.

60. *Syed Abrar Ali Shah:

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

(a) the number of person who applied for houses under the NAYA Pakistan Housing Scheme alongwith the district-wise detail thereof; and

(b) the number of person to whom the possession of the houses has been handed over after the completion of such houses?

Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Division: (a) 2,003,940 citizens applied for registration in Naya Pakistan Housing Programme (NPHP) during Phase­I and II of registration out of which 17,99,533 are eligible. District­wise detail of eligible applicants is enclosed at Annex A.

(b) Possession of 1,508 apartments/housing units, completed in collaboration with Workers Welfare Fund (WWF) under Naya Pakistan Housing Programme (NPHP), has been handed over to the applicants.

(Annexure has been placed in the National Assembly Library) 22 61. *Shazia Marri:

Will the Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication be pleased to state:

(a) whether it is fact that Pakistan has been ranked one of the lowest countries on the inclusive internet index 2020 released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU); if so, the reasons thereof;

(b) the details of areas in which Pakistan showed poor performance according to EIU conclusion;

(c) whether Government has conducted or intends to conduct a well thought out analysis to determine the reasons behind such poor performance in inclusive Internet index if so, the details thereof; and

(d) what steps are being taken by the Government to fix such weak areas?

Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication (Syed Amin ul Haque): (a) Yes.

The main reasons may be attributed to the following: i. Issues related to Right of Way ii. High Taxation on Telecom Sector iii. Spectrum availability/allocations iv. Affordability of Smart Phones (b) Four Areas highlighted by EIU are: i. Availability ii. Affordability iii. Relevance iv. Readiness However, it may be noted that as per PTA’s report, the Teledensity stands at 85% which indicates that a vast majority of the population has access to Telecommunication Services as under: 23

 Total Cellular Subscribers :180 Million  Total Broadband Subscribers: 98 Million

(c) Yes

The present Government in line with the vision of Digital Pakistan has given priority to telecommunication services. In this regard, extensive consultations with public and private sector stakeholders were undertaken. Accordingly, several initiatives aimed at proliferation of Telecommunication Services have been launched by the Ministry of IT & Telecom.

(d) As part of our Digital Transformation Journey, we are pursuing a multi dimensional implementation strategy ranging from Legislative and Policy Interventions for a Harmonized Regulatory Environment.

In this regard, major policy interventions include:

i. Promulgation of Pakistan’s First Right of Way Policy ii. Introduction of a Rolling Spectrum Strategy/Roadmap iii. Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy iv. Reduction in Taxes for Telecom Sector v. Award of Industry Status to Telecom Sector

In addition, following policies are under quantization:

i. Additional spectrum availability for 3G/4G network expansion for better quality and coverage of services ii. National Broadband Policy 2021 iii. 50 Roadmap

Resultantly during first two quarters of the current fiscal year (2021­22), following growth in telecom sector has been witnessed:

Increase in:

 Cellular Subscribers: 7.58 Million  NGMS Subscribers: 7.74 Million  Broadband Subscribers: 7.82 Million  Teledensity: 3.13% 24 62. *Syed Hussain Tariq:

Will the Minister for Climate Change be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Ministry or any other institute, which comes under the administrative control of the Ministry has assessed that climate changes are among the major reasons behind the dwindling crop output in the country in recent years; if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons thereof; and

(b) what steps are being taken by the Government with the collaboration of all stakeholders to mitigate challenges of climate change on agriculture sector of the country?

Minister of State for Climate Change (Mrs. Zartaj Gul): (a) Climate Change is considered as one of the most perilous phenomenon and a biggest challenge being faced by the world today and no country including Pakistan is an exception to it. Pakistan due to its geographic location and poor resources base is amongst the countries which are most vulnerable to the vagaries of climate and agriculture is one of the major sectors being affected by it.

Global Change Impact Studies Centre (GCISC), a dedicated research institute for climate change studies in the country and serving as the research arm of Ministry of Climate Change, is doing research on climate change and associated impacts on the various sectors of socio­economic development including agriculture. For the impact assessment studies, various crop simulation and water management models are being employed.

Projections indicate that average temperature over Pakistan will increase in the coming decades at a pace faster than that of the average global temperature and may exceed by about 1°C by the end of this century. Studies carried out at GCISC point towards yield losses and reduced growing cycles in the various climatic zones of the country under the influence of increasing temperatures. The water security of the country is also threatened by the climate change which further accentuates the food insecurity concerns. Comprehensive studies carried out at the Centre to assess the impact of climate change on various crops in different climatic zones of the country using crop simulation models reveal that Wheat crop yield will be reduced by 3.4­12.5%, in Semi­ arid irrigated areas (like Faisalabad, Sheikhupura), 3.8­14.5% in arid areas (like Hyderabad, Badin, Bahawalpur, Multan) and more than 16% in rainfed 25 (Chakwal) areas under different climate change scenarios. Even under the extreme case scenario the wheat yields may tend to reduce to 40% by the end of the century. Rice and maize yields are expected to decline by 12­ 22% and 34­41% respectively under various climate change scenarios in different agro­ ecological regions of the country by the end of the century. The growing season length of these crops will also be shortened resulting in significant decline in yields. Studies also reflect an increase in net crop water requirements owing to the increase in temperatures. The net irrigation requirements are estimated to increase by 5.5 % to 10% in arid and semi­arid areas under different climate change scenarios for various crops in different agro­ecological zones by the end of the century. Such likely yield reductions call for adaptation measures to protect/increase the yield. Some adaptation measures like increased rate of fertilizer application, use of higher seed rate, 3­split application of fertilizer, change in sowing window, improved scheduling of irrigation and dry sowing of rice have been evaluated and have shown promise to maintain yield to a certain extent. Another manifestation of climate change is in the form of extreme events like floods, droughts, heatwaves, cyclones etc. Such events pose massive losses to agriculture as well. Research on forecasting of extreme events is still in the infancy globally. Pakistan has experienced more frequent and more intense extreme climate events such as floods, droughts, cyclones, heavy rain spells, extremely high temperatures etc. as may be seen in Annex-I, which lists such salient events from 1985 onwards until now. Based on this information, Table­I compares the occurrences of various extreme events during the periods 1986­2000 and 2001­2019. It may be noted that the monsoon variability has increased substantially with time. As a result, Pakistan has experienced flooding every year since 2010 which caused huge devastation of life and property. Furthermore, drought prevailed in the southern part of the country during 1998­2001 and 2013­15. Tharparkar and adjoining districts in Sindh are facing the drought situation even now. An extreme event of heat wave was witnessed by Pakistan in Sindh province including the metropolitan city of Karachi from 17th to 25th June 2015. Due to such extreme events heavy economic losses have been incurred to agriculture. Even in 2019 due to persistently high temperature in the 3rd and last weeks of August rice and maize yields were heavily suffered.

(b) The Government of Pakistan has developed a National Climate Change Policy in 2012 which aims to ensure that Climate Change is mainstreamed in the economically and socially vulnerable sectors of the economy and to steer Pakistan towards climate resilient development. The policy provides a number of measures with regard to Agriculture Sector to enhance the national food security of Pakistan. 26 The Ministry of Climate Change in collaboration with Food and Agriculture Organization is also implementing a 48 Million Dollar Green Climate Fund project titled “Transforming the Indus Basin with Climate Resilient Agriculture and Climate-Smart Water Management”.

The project objective is to increase resilience to climate change among the most vulnerable farmers in the Indus Basin and to strengthen government’s capacity to support communities in adapting to climate change.

The project outcomes that will result in the achievement of this objective are: 1. Strengthened institutional and regulatory systems for climate­ responsive planning and development 2. Increased generation and use of climate information in decision making 3. Strengthened adaptive capacity and reduced exposure to climate threats on­farm 4. Strengthened awareness of climate change threats and risk reduction processes (Brief on the project is provided at Annex-I)

(Annexure has been placed in the National Assembly Library)

63. *Dr. Nafisa Shah:

Will the Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training be pleased to state:

(a) whether it is a fact that different School/College buses have been suspended from different routes due to shortage of Drivers;

(b) if so, what are the reasons of shortage of drivers?

Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training (Mr. Shafqat Mahmood): (a) Yes, it is a fact that some colleges have suspended some routes of buses due to non availability of Drivers, Conductors and budget for POL. Since 2009, no driver/conductor has been recruited in 27 educational institutions under FDE due to litigation. Under Prime Minister Education Reform Program (PMERP) buses were provided during January, 2017 to January 2019 but without any additional budget for POL and posts of Drivers/Bus Conductors. Some institutions are operating these buses with support of community through School Management Committees on cost sharing basis. The M/o FE&PT had recently moved a summary for operationalization of the buses through School/College Management Committee and formal approval has been granted by Federal Cabinet and policy to implement this decision is under process of approval by competent forum. This approval shall provide legal cover for collection and spending of funds raised through School/College Management Committee for the purpose. (b) As explained above.

64. *Syed Imran Ahmad Shah: Will the Minister for Aviation Division be pleased to state the total number of Pilots of all private airlines including PIA, whose degrees/ diplomas/certificates have been found fake alongwith the list of Pilots whose degrees have got verified by the authorities so far? Minister for Aviation Division (Mr. Ghulam Sarwar Khan): —————————————————————————————— Airlines Re-Verified SSC/ HSC Found Fake/ Bogus Certificate Certificate —————————————————————————————— PIACL 702 03 Air Blue 162 00 Serene Air 59 00 Ex­Shaheen Air 337 02 —————————————————————————————— 65. *Shazia Marri:

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

(a) the district-wise details of funds for each province and other entity of the country which have been granted under any nomenclature against different development projects by the Federal Government, since August, 2018; (b) the benchmark upon which, such funds are being granted; 28 (c) whether it is fact that constituencies, which won by the MNAs belong to opposition parties, are being ignored from such funds; if so, the justification thereof; and (d) what corrective measures are being taken by the authorities to distribute funds fairly and justly?

Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Division: (a) The Cabinet Division is running Sustainable Development Goals Achievement Programme (SAP) since FY 2018­19, to make interventions as per demands of the residents of an area. So far, an amount of Rs. 84,050.00 million has been released to the concerned Federal Ministries and Provincial Governments for execution of development schemes. The district­wise details of funds released as reported to Cabinet Division are attached (Annex-I).

(b) The Federal Cabinet constituted a Steering Committee on SAP headed by the Federal Minister for Defence including Parliamentarians as members functioning as per approved guidelines notified on 9th March, 2020 (Annex­II). The Steering Committee allocates funds keeping in view the demands of the residents of an area, and is responsible for overall supervision of the programme. (c) SAP funds are grant­specific and not person or constituency­ specific in terms of the judgment of the Supreme Court of Pakistan dated 05­12­2013 (Annex­III). Lump­sum funds are released to the concerned Federal Ministries and Provincial Governments for execution of schemes after fulfilling all codal formalities. (d) N/A.

(Annexures have been placed in the National Assembly Library)

66. *Syed Agha Rafiullah:

Will the Minister In-charge of the Establishment Division be pleased to state:

(a) whether it is a fact that Federal Employees Benevolent and Group Insurance Funds (FEB&GIF) pays educational stipends to maximum two children of the Federal Government Employees in a financial year for post metric studies and reimburses annual/ 29 semester fee of a serving, retired or deceased Government employees studying in public sector Universities, Colleges and Institutions in Medical, Engineering, IT, Business Studies, D-Pharmacy and Architecture;

(b) if so, the justification of giving educational stipends to only two children of an employee and giving reimbursement of fee of only in the six discipline; and

(c) whether is there any proposal under consideration of the Government to pay educational stipends to all the children of an employee and include rest of educational disciplines for the fee reimbursement; if so, the details thereof; if not, the reasons thereof?

Minister In-charge of the Establishment Division: (a) Yes. The FEB & GIF has been paying educational stipend and fee reimbursement on prescribed rates (Annex-I) to two children, in a financial year, of Federal Government employees and employees of certain other autonomous bodies to whom coverage has been extended under Rule 25 and 25­A of FEBF & GI Rules, 1972 (Annex-II). (b) The affairs of the FEB & GIF are managed in the light of directions of Board of Trustees (BOT) and rules approved by the Cabinet under the FEBF & GI Act, 1969. The payment of educational stipend and fee reimbursement for only two children in a financial year out of Group Insurance Fund, is according to the Rule 25 of the FEBF & GI Rules, 1972 (Annex-II). Moreover, expenditure for other benefits i.e sum assured, lump sum grant, special lump sum grant, marriage grant, burial charges and cash award are also met from the Group Insurance Fund. Owing to aforementioned expenditures, the GIF is already in deficit, so BOT is following the existing policy of reimbursement of fee/ educational stipend to only two children of a government employee in a financial year.

(c) No, there is no proposal under consideration owing to financial constraints being faced in GIF. (Annexures have been placed in the National Assembly Library)

67. *Mr. Muhammad Afzal Khokhar:

Will the Minister for Aviation Division be pleased to state: 30 (a) whether it is fact that prior maintenance shortfalls blamed of PIA’s planes crashes in recent years; if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether such shortfalls have been investigated in recent years; if not, the reasons thereof; and

(c) what steps are being taken by the Government to fix such shortfalls and upgrade maintenance wing of PIA expeditiously?

Minister for Aviation Division (Mr. Ghulam Sarwar Khan): (a) PIA Engineering & Maintenance is maintaining its entire PK fleet of aircraft as per most current & applicable FAA/EASA/PCAA regulations alongwith OEMs recommendations, for ensuring continuing airworthiness both at aircraft level as well as Engine/Component level. The Maintenance program is being entirely governed & abide by all of these regulations from time to time.

(b) NA.

(c) NA.

68. *Jam Abdul Karim Bijar:

Will the Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Division be pleased to refer to Starred Question No.10 replied on 31-01-2020 and to state:

(a) if Special Assistant to PM do not come under the definition of Federal Minister or Ministers of State of the Federal Ministers and Ministers of State (Salaries, Allowances and Privileges) Act, 1975;

(b) whether they are entitled to give perks and privileges under the aforesaid Act; and

(c) whether it is a fact that granting of such perks and privileges to Special Assistants to PM without amending the said Act, is violation of the said Act;

(d) if so, what corrective steps are being taken by the Government in this regard? 31 Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Division: (a) The Special Assistants to the Prime Minister are not covered under the definition of Federal Minister or a Minister of State nor do they exercise the powers / authority of a Federal Minister or Minister of State.

(b) In terms of rule 15(1)(g) read with Item No. 1A of Schedule V­A of the Rules of Business, 1973, the SAPMs are granted the status of a Federal Minister or Minister of State (without Cabinet rank). By virtue of such status, they only become entitled to salary, allowances and privileges admissible of a Federal Minister and Minister of State as per the Federal Ministers and Ministers of State (Salaries, Allowances and Privileges) Act, 1975.

(c) The salary, perks and privileges are settled at par with those admissible to a Minister or Minister of State, as the case may be.

(d) The position stated above does not so desire any action in this regard.

69. *Syed Imran Ahmad Shah:

Will the Minister In-charge of the Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety be pleased to state whether it is a fact that poverty rate has been increased in the country during the tenure of incumbent Government?

Reply not received.

70. *Dr. Nafisa Shah:

Will the Minister for National Heritage and Culture Division be pleased to state:

(a) what steps taken or are being taken to improve Lok Mela festivals in Lok Virsa after COVID-19; and

(b) whether is there any plan for revival/promotion of regional culture/folk diversity after the impact of COVID-19?

Minister for National Heritage and Culture Division (Mr. Shafqat Mahmood): (a) National Institute of Folk & Traditional Heritage (Lok Virsa) is an Autonomous Body under the administrative control of National Heritage and 32 Culture Division, meant for building soft image of Pakistan through promotion of culture. Festivals are a small but very important part of Lok Virsa’s wide mandate and the current management of Lok Virsa is doing everything which can make the festivals successful especially during the COVID­19 times. It is quite clear from the several events including annual festival held in the last year during COVID­19 that not only the quality of events was better but a whole range of SoPs were also implemented:

 PM’s Tiger Force volunteers ensured that visitors kept wearing masks for the entire duration of their presence in the festival.

 Sanitizing gates alongwith masks and temperature guns were installed at the entry points to ensure that no infected person may enter the festival.

 Spraying drones hovering over the entire Lok Virsa complex and disinfecting the environment frequently ensured maximum safety of the public at large and Lok Virsa Staff.

 Lok Virsa intends to ensure the observance of these high standards of SoPs in all upcoming events and festivals during the COVID­19.

(b) Lok Virsa has proposed and planned several major projects for promotion and celebration of cultural diversity of Pakistan especially for the youth of the country. These include the followings:

 Incubation Programme for young Artists and Musicians from all over the country.

 An Artisans emporium showcasing the product of Pakistani Artisans. In addition to this, an e­platform is also being planned for artisans and their products for international Clients.

 Establishment of Cultural Complexes all over the country especially in all six regions of the country is under consideration.

In the light of instructions issued by NCOC, all types of gathering including cultural activities are banned all over the country due to 3rd wave of COVID­19. However, Lok Virsa intends to start the cultural activities after ease in COVID­19 by ensuring the observance of high standard of SoPs in all upcoming events and festivals. 33 71. *Mr. Riaz Fatyana:

Will the Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Division be pleased to state: (a) the total number of appointment made by the Ex-Acting Chairman OGRA (Mr. Noor ul Haq) during his posting as acting Chairman OGRA; and (b) category-wise details of appointments made by the Ex-Acting Chairman OGRA?

Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Division: (a) Total 07 employees for support staff were appointed temporarily on contingent (daily waiges) basis in light of Regulation 19­A of OGRA Service Regulation 2005, which is appended as below;

I9A. Appointment on Contingent Basis.—“In circumstances when it is considered expedient in the interest of the Authority, a post may be filled temporarily by appointment on contingent basis with the approval of the Chairman”.

(b) Detail list enclosed

(Annexure has been placed in the National Assembly Library)

72. *Choudhary Faqir Ahmad:

Will the Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training be pleased to state: (a) whether HEC being a regulator has taken notice of alleged corrupt practices of Vice Chancellor Agriculture University of Faisalabad in recent years, such corrupt practices includes the appointments and development work carried out in the University, in violation of rules; if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether any inquiry has been conducted in such corrupt practices; if so, the details thereof; if not, the reasons thereof; and

(c) what steps are being taken by the concerned authorities in this regard? 34 Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training (Mr. Shafqat Mahmood): (a) As per recommendations of the probe Committee constituted by the Vice Chancellor, University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF), an FIR was lodged in the Anfi­Corruption Establishment (ACE) against Prof. (Retd) Dr. lqrar Ahmed Khan Ex­Vice Chancellor (UAF) and Ch. Muhammad Hussain, Ex­Registrar (UAF) on account of the following Charges:

 Illegal / irregular appointment of 608 persons without advertisement in the dailies.

 Loss to University exchequer worth Rs. 41,196,478/­.

 Payment of honorarium / remuneration worth Rs. 9.12 million to Prof. (Retd) Dr. lqrar Ahmed Khan, Being Vice Chancellor, (UAF).

 Dual Salary drawn by Prof. (Retd) Dr. lqrar Ahmed Khan during his tenure as Vice Chancellor (UAF) for the period from 13­12­2016 to 08­08­2017.

Dr. Khan and Ch. Hussain have filed a Writ Petition No. 9024/2021 in the Lahore High Court (LHC), Lahore against the Director General, Anti­Corruption Establishment etc. the case is still pending/adjudication in the (LHC).

Furthermore, the inquiry proceedings were initiated with regard to corrupt practices in 6 development projects by different agencies. At present inquiries against 3 projects have been dropped whereas inquires against remaining projects are under way.

(b) As stated in the Para (a) above.

(c) The case is still under consideration of the Anti­Corruption Establishment as well as Lahore High Court, Lahore.

73. *Mr. Ramesh Lal:

Will the Minister for Information Technology and Tele- communications be pleased to state whether there is any proposal under consideration of the Government to lay PTCL cable in Sector I-16, Islamabad; If so, the time by which same will be laid? 35 Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications (Syed Amin ul Haque): No, PTCL has no potential demand in Sector, it is not commercially viable to lay PTCL cable/network at this point of time. However, this will be considered in next year’s projects in case demand arises by that time.

74. *Mr. Naveed Aamir Jeeva:

Will the Minister for Climate Change be pleased to state:

(a) whether polythene bags were banned in Islamabad;

(b) if so, since when such bags were banned; and

(c) the details of alternate system provided by the Government to the public?

Minister of State for Climate Change (Mrs. Zartaj Gul): (a) Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak­EPA) notified the Regulations titled the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency Ban on (Manufacturing, Import, Sale, Purchase, Storage and Usage) Polythene Bags Regulations, 2019 under S.R.O. 92(KE)/2019.

To facilitate implementation of the Regulation, Pak­EPA has notified four teams for City Circle, Industrial Circle, Rural Circle and Saddar Circle of ICT under clause “b” of sub­Regulation (1) of Regulation 2 read with Section 17 of PEPA’97. Each team is composed of the officials from Ministry of Climate Change, Pak­EPA, ICT Administration, Directorate of Municipal Administration and co­opted member from Media.

(b) Polythene bags were banned on July 25, 2019 within the territorial jurisdiction of ICT. The aforesaid Regulations are aimed for a complete ban on manufacture, sale, use, purchase, trade, supply, store and distribute on any kind of single use plastic bags in ICT.

(c) Pak­EPA introduced and distributed the alternative bags of jute, paper, cloth etc. within all the commercial markets of Islamabad during the awareness campaigns.

Also, Pak­EPA disseminated information regarding the use of alternative carrier bags and environmental damage caused by using polythene bags through; 36  Print media (newspapers advertisements and articles, magazines, flyers/brochures etc.),  Electronic media (programs on Radio Pakistan and News Channels)  Academia (delivering lectures in schools, colleges)  Arranging awareness programs via workshops / seminars and  Distribution of informative­flyers among the public in industrial areas and commercial markets of Islamabad.

75. *Nawab Muhammad Yousuf Talpur:

Will the Minister for Aviation Division be pleased to state:

(a) whether it is a fact that meteorological department issued a GLOF (glacial lake outburst flood) alert for Hassanabad, Hunza, Gilgit Baltistan;

(b) whether it is also a fact that installing an automatic weather station at Hassanabad is extremely necessary;

(c) whether it is also a fact Hydro Meteorological Equipment proposed by GLOF project 2 has not yet been arrived;

(d) if the answers to parts (a), (b) and (c) are in affirmative, what steps are being taken by the Government to ensure the discharge of water from the glacier lake and equip the Gilgit Baltistan Disaster Management Authority to prepare for any eventuality; and

(e) the time by which automatic weather station on the lake will start working?

Minister for Aviation Division (Mr. Ghulam Sarwar Khan): (a) “PMD issued GLOF alert on 24th February, 2021 through National Project Manager, GLOF­II Project, Islamabad. The Alert was as under:

“The area is highly vulnerable due to high probability of GLOF event triggering from Shishper Glacial dammed lake in the wake of increasing temperatures of approaching summers. Thus, the coming 3 to 4 weeks are highly important and Shispher glacier along with lake needs to be monitored continuously to inform about any unforeseen situation”. 37 (b) Yes, the installation of AWS at Hassanabad is extremely necessary for monitoring of critical situation of Shishper Glacier.

(c) Yes, PMD has not yet received any Hydro met­equipment from UNDP proposed for GLOF­II Project.

(d) The matter about the discharge from Glacial lake is under discussion at district government and GBDMA level.

(e) PMD has arranged the AWS from available instrument and had installed on 11th March 2021 and it is operational since then.

The data is available online at following link http://202.83.174.35/faws/index.php

76. *Jam Abdul Karim Bijar:

Will the Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Division be pleased with reference to Starred Question No. 10 replied on 31st January 2020 and to state:

(a) the date upon which each person holding the status of Federal Minister and Minister of State in the tenure of incumbent Government has been allowed to draw salary allowances and privileges under the Federal Ministers and Ministers of States (Salaries, Allowances and Privileges) Act 1975 and consequently a notification published in this regard in Gazette of Pakistan;

(b) whether it is a fact that Cabinet Division did not issue any official notification with regard to allow persons holding the status of Federal Minister and Minister of State in the tenure of incumbent Government to draw salary allowances and privileges under the Federal Minister and Ministers of State (Salaries Allowances and Privileges) Act 1975; if so, the justification thereof; and (c) what corrective steps are being taken in this regard? Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Division: (a) The Prime Minister, in terms of sub­rule 6 of rule 4 of the Rules of Business, 1973 appoints the Special Assistants to the Prime Minister with such status and functions as may 38 be determined by the Prime Minister. Normally the Special Assistants are granted the status of Federal Minister/Minister of State. The Cabinet Division issues necessary notification of the appointment and status. By virtue of this notification they become entitled to the salary of Federal Minister/ Minister of State as per Federal Ministers and Ministers of State (Salaries, Allowances and Privileges) Act, 1975. A copy of each notification issued in the tenure of incumbent Government is attached.

(b) The position has been stated as above. The copies of the notifications issued by the Cabinet Division have also been attached.

(c) The rule position has explicitly been mentioned as above.

(Annexure has been placed in the National Assembly Library)

77. *Mr. Abdul Qadir Patel: Will the Minister In-charge of the Establishment Division be pleased to state:

(a) whether it is a fact that thousands of posts of different cadres in Federal Administrative institutions have been abolished recently; if so, the departments-wise details thereof alongwith reasons or justification to abolish such posts in each departments; (b) whether abolishing of such posts increase the already rising trend of unemployment in the country:

(c) the details of stance of Government on the reports of discontinuation of pensions and benefits ancillary thereto for Government employees; if so, the reasons thereof; and

(d) what corrective measures are being taken by the Government on both of the counts?

Reply not received.

78. *Ms. Shagufta Jumani:

Will the Minister for Aviation Division be pleased to state:

(a) whether is there any proposal under consideration of the Government to rename, the New Islamabad International Airport 39 after the name of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed in recognition of her struggle and sacrifices for the country;

(b) if so, the details thereof; if not, the reasons thereof?

Minister for Aviation Division (Mr. Ghulam Sarwar Khan): (a) There is no proposal under consideration to change the name of New Islamabad International Airport after the name of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed.

(b) Naming an airport is the prerogative of the Federal Government and the Federal Cabinet in Case No. 130/2018, dated 28­02­2018 has already approved the name of newly constructed airport as “Islamabad International Airport”. Further, old Benazir Bhutto International Airport is already operational airport.

79. *Mr. Abdul Qadir Patel:

Will the Minister In-charge of the Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division be pleased to state:

(a) whether it is a fact that Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal does not grant educational scholarships/stipends to those deserving students who study in any campus of Virtual University; if so, the reasons thereof;

(b) whether is there any proposal under consideration of the Government to include students of Universities like Virtual University for grant of educational scholarship/stipend by Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal; if so, the details thereof; and

(c) the time by which it will be started; if not, the reasons thereof?

Minister In-charge of the Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division: (a) Pakistan Bait­ul­Mal provides financial assistance to the eligible poor / deserving students enrolled in the government educational institutes. In this regard following components of prescribed fee structure are paid:

i. Admission Fee (Only 1st Semester or year) ii. Tuition Fee iii. Examination Fee iv. Registration Fee (Only 1st Semester or year) 40 v. Library Fee (Non­refundable only) vi. Transportation Charges (At the same time, either transport or hostel charges can be claimed)

(b) It is pertinent to mention that a student is provided upto Rs.100,000/­ per year. Being a public sector university, the student enrolled in Virtual University may obtain financial assistance in aforementioned components of fee structure as per policy.

(c) As Above.

80. *Mr. Naveed Aamir Jeeva: Will the Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training be pleased to refer to the Starred Question No.98 replied on 27-07-2020 and to state: (a) the month-wise total amount incurred on said all vehicles of Federal Education Board, Islamabad during the last eight financial years till date; and (b) the details of authority with whom order and permission amount expended on said vehicles?

Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training (Mr. Shafqat Mahmood): (a) The month wise detail of amount incurred on said all vehicles of Federal Board of Intermediate & Secondary Education (FBISE) during last eight financial years till date is enclosed at Annexure­I.

(b) The annual budget of FBISE is approved by the Board of Governors (BOG) on the recommendations of Finance Committee as per provision in FBISE Act, 1975. Accordingly, the permission for amount expended on said vehicles have been made with the approval of the Secretary/Chairman, FBISE.

(Annexure has been placed in the National Assembly Library)

ISLAMABAD: TAHIR HUSSAIN, The 1st April, 2021 Secretary.

PCPPI—3367(2021) NA—1­04­2021—500. 1 (31st Session)

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SECRETARIAT

————

“UNSTARRED QUESTIONS AND THEIR REPLIES”

For Friday, the 2nd April, 2021

20. Sheikh Rohale Asghar: (Deferred during 29th Session)

Will the Minister for Aviation Division be pleased to state the location- wise operational and non-operational airports in the country at present?

Minister for Aviation Division (Mr. Ghulam Sarwar Khan): A complete overview of the PCAA airports across the country. ————————————————————————————— Total Airports 44 ————————————————————————————— International 12 Domestic 15 Operational Airports 27 Scaled Down Airports 06 Closed Airports 11 ————————————————————————————— *Location wise list attached

Moreover, the technical term used for non-functional airports is either Scaled Down or Closed Airports.

Annex ————————————————————————————————————— S.No. OPERATIONAL SCALED CLOSED INTERNATIONAL DOMESTIC DOWN ————————————————————————————————————— 1. JIAP, Karachi Hyderabad Khuzdar Jiwani PN 2. AIIAP, Lahore Moenjodaro Muzaffarabad Ormara 3. IIAP, Islamabad Sukkur Rawalakot Sibi 4. BKIAP, Peshawar Dalbandin Bannu Mangla 5. Quetta Panjgur Parachinar Kohat ————————————————————————————————————— 2

————————————————————————————————————— S.No. OPERATIONAL SCALED CLOSED INTERNATIONAL DOMESTIC DOWN ————————————————————————————————————— 6. Multan Zhob Saidu Sharif Bhagtanwala 7. Faisalabad Nawabshah Mianwali 8. R.Y. Khan Walton Sehwan Sharif 9. Turbat Pasni Mir Pur Khas 10. Gawadar Bahawalpur Talhar 11. Sialkot* D.G. Khan Jacobababd 12. BBIAP D.I. Khan 13. Chitral 14. Skardu 15. Gilgit ————————————————————————————————————— Total 12 15 6 11 ————————————————————————————————————— * Private Airport

 Total Airports : 44  Total Operational : 27 o International : 12 o Domestic : 15  Scaled down : 06  Closed : 11 12. Ms. Shahida Rehmani:

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

(a) details about blockage of potential revenue due to which contractual management issues in PTA that have led to disputes and litigation with service providers; and

(b) the details of issues regarding renewal of licenses of telecom operators upon their expiry?

Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Division: (a) There are no contractual management issues in PTA. Cellular operators demanded renewal of licenses on the same terms as was awarded to them in 2004 i.e. 291 million US$ per operator. The Federal Government through a policy directive issued on 9th May 2019 (Annex-A) decided the licenses renewal at US $ 449.2 Million to Pakistan Mobile Communications Limited (ex-Warid/Jazz) and Telenor, and US$ 477 Million to China Mobile Pakistan (CMPak/Zong) based on spectrum auction price benchmark. It is clearly apparent that instead of loss to the exchequer, the Government of Pakistan and the Authority has 3 renewed the licenses at true value. At the outset it is mentioned that there is no loss to national exchequer arising out of mobile operators’ license renewal process as all the three (3) mobile operators have timely deposited the due amount of license renewal fee till date. Further, it is expected with much satisfaction that the remaining amount will be collected when due during this year and subsequent three (3) years as per license condition and payment schedule and in light of the honorable Islamabad High Court order.

It may further be considered that PTA has collected, and deposited in Government Treasury, over 862 Million US Dollars till now on account of principal and related markup for said three license renewals. As regards remaining principal amount, 137.6 Million US Dollars will become due for payment within this calendar year i.e. 2021 and remaining amount of around 412.70 Million USD shall be due over the remaining period of three (3) years, the amount so collected shall be deposited in Government Treasury upon receipt.

(b) 3x cellular mobile license (PMCL, Telenor and CMPAK) were due for renewal in 2019. On 9-5-2019, GOP issued policy directive for renewal of cellular mobile licenses (copy attached as Annex-A). The Term and Conditions of the renewed licenses especially Quality of Service (QoS) and Rollout Obligations are modified keeping in view the advancement in technologies and best international practices. Operators have challenged the said policy directive in the court of law and case is currently subjudice.

(Annexure has been placed in the National Assembly Library)

13. Mr. Naveed Aamir Jeeva:

Will the Minister In-charge of the Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division be pleased to state that how much quota/funds have been allocated in the Ehsaas Program for the destitute, disables, widows and students belonging to Minority of Pakistan?

Reply not received.

14. Syed Imran Ahmad Shah:

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

(a) whether Honourable Prime Minister has announced to setup/ establish fifteen National Parks throughout the country; 4 (b) if so, the time by which such parks will be established/setup alongwith the location of each thereof?

Reply not received.

15. Mr. Naveed Aamir Jeeva:

Will the Minister In-charge of the Establishment Division be pleased to state:

(a) whether it is a fact that the one month salary from benevolent fund is given to every employee on his/her retirement;

(b) the number of such BPS-21 employees of Income Tax Department belonging to Karachi, whose cheques bounced from 1st January, 2020 to 15 February, 2021 detail of each employee and the time by which cheques of such benefit will be reissued to them; and

(c) the detail of action taken or being taken against the persons responsible for it?

Minister In-charge of the Establishment Division: (a) Yes. One month salary is being paid out of benevolent fund to an employee as per Rule 24 of Federal Employee Benevolent Fund and Group Insurance Fund Rules, 1972:

24. “Payment of farewell grant.—(1) A sum equal to one month’s pay shall be paid out of the Benevolent Fund to an employee if he proceeds on retiring pension after twenty five years continuous service on or after first day of January, 2006.”;

“Provided that the Managing Director may condone a deficiency of up to a maximum of six months in the service required for payment of grant under this rule”.

(2) A sum equal to one month’s pay shall be paid out of the Benevolent Fund to an employee if he proceeds on retiring pension after twenty years’ service on or after first day of September, 2012. (b) Neither any cheque of BS-21 employees of the Income Tax Department belonging to Regional Board Karachi bounced nor the said Department reported any complaint in this regard. (c) As no cheque was bounced and/or any such report received, therefore, no action was required to be taken against any person. 5 16. Ms. Shahida Rehmani Will the Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training be pleased to state: (a) whether it is a fact that continuous violation is being carried out by Higher Education Commission with province of Sindh by ignoring jobs quota allocated according to rules; if so, the detail thereof; and (b) the total number of advertisements were advertised by HEC for recruitments during the last two years alongwith the province- wise detail thereof? Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training (Mr. Shafqat Mahmood): (a) Higher Education Commission (HEC) is following Provincial / Regional Quota as prescribed by the Federal Government for recruitment against the vacant positions. As such, there is no violation in implementing the provincial quota for Sindh i.e. Sindh (Rural 11.4%) - Sindh (Urban 7.6%). (b) The detail of the position advertised during last two (years) is attached at Annex-I and Province-wise detail is attached Annex-II. (Annexures have been placed in the National Assembly Library) 17. Syed Agha Rafiullah Will the Minister In-charge of the Establishment Division be pleased to state: (a) whether it is a fact that there are number of posts in the Federal Government and autonomous bodies, where contractual/ contingent paid employees have been working since more than a decade; (b) whether it is also a fact that the contractual/contingent employees services have not been regularized since long time, due to which the said employees became over age to qualify for other regular Government sector jobs; and (c) whether it is further a fact that despite clear instructions issued by Federal Government during the years 2011-2013 to regularize the services of contractual and contingent paid employees serving in many autonomous bodies, but yet such directions are not comply; if so, the reasons thereof? 6 Minister In-charge of the Establishment Division: (a) A number of employees are working on contingent/ contract basis in the Federal - Government and Autonomous Bodies. However, the time period of their services varies and nothing can be said with utmost surety about length of their services.

(b) The contractual/contingent paid employees can apply for any government sector job at any time, subject to eligibility criteria. As far as the matter of regularization of the services of the contract/contingent employees is concerned, the Honourable Islamabad High Court vide judgment in ICA- No. 340/2017 dated 21st June, 2018 (Annex-I) has set definite principles for Regularization of Services of Contract/Daily wages employees and the directions have been given to the Divisions/ Departments/ Organizations concerned to implement the judgment in letter and spirit.

(c) The then Cabinet Sub-Committee on regularization of contract/ daily wages employees, regularized the services of the Contract/Daily wages/ Contingent employs subject to availability of post and fulfilment of recruitment criteria and verification of service of the said employees. Hence, it was responsibility of the relevant department to regularize the services of employees.

(Annexure has been placed in the National Assembly Library) 18. Mr. Muhammad Aslam Khan

Will the Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training be pleased to state: (a) whether it is a fact that Higher Education Commission has, introduced two years “Associate Degree” in December, 2018 after F.Sc, in various disciplines or subjects, through Colleges/ Universities; (b) whether the persons holding Associate Degree who can apply for the posts in BPS-14 to 16 in any department, Division, Ministry and autonomous bodies; (c) if the answers to parts (a) and (b) above are in affirmative, then the details thereof; if not, what is the equivalence status of such degree programme; (d) in which categories/jobs a candidate holding such degree can apply; and 7 (e) whether the person who holds “Associate Degree” in any discipline can apply for the Federal (CSS) and Provincial Competitive exams? Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training (Mr. Shafqat Mahmood): (a) Yes that is true, though not only for FSc but anyone who has completed intermediate or equivalent education. (b) The Associate Degree (AD) is awarded after completion of 14 years of education, which is equivalent to the discontinued BA/BSc. Therefore, eligibility for jobs is also the same. (c) Details are available in the Undergraduate Education Policy 2020 placed on HEC website for easy access (https://www.hec.gov.pk/english/ services/faculty/Plagiarism/Documents/UGE-Policv.pdf) (d) Not applicable in the view of above paras. (e) If BA/BSc degree holders could apply for Federal and Provincial competitive exams, then in principle the answer is “Yes”. (Also refer to answer at b). 19. Mr. Muhammad Aslam Khan:

Will the Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training be pleased to state: (a) whether it is a fact that due to Covid-19 various educational programmes, trainings (on line) or face to face education are delayed; (b) whether it is also a fact that the students age for the various programmes and trainings has been either exceeded or have become over age, in particular for Ph. D trainings placement programmes by Higher Education Commission; (c) whether it is further a fact that HEC has announced a training programme having age 40 years interim placement of fresh Ph.Ds Phase-II, IPFP Bath-II for a period of 12-months on their web portal after a period of about three years but no age relaxation provision is provided so far; and (d) what steps are being taken by the HEC, authorities to provide three years age relaxation for the fresh Ph. D holders placement training programme? 8 Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training (Mr. Shafqat Mahmood): (a) Due to Covid-19, the mode of program delivery changed to online but there is no delay in the program of trainings itself. However, Learning Innovation Division (LID) was transformed to National Academy of Higher Education (NAHE), HEC in June 2019. Since then, NAHE has trained 4 cohorts of around 500 IPFP Fellows through extensive one month training programs from April to October 2020. (b) HEC announced the IPFP Phase II Batch I on October/ November, 2019 and Batch II, on 7th March 2021 again, after a period of approximately one year and 3 months for the Ph.D holders who are not more than 40 years of age (Advertisements Enclosed at Annex-I & Annex-II). Age limit is same as stated in the last advertisement, hence it is not correct that fellows have become overage due to delay in program announcement. Infect, there are some Ph.D fellows who were eligible to apply in last batch as well and are still eligible to apply in this batch if their Ph.D Degree has been awarded within last two years. (c) HEC announced the IPFP Phase II Batch I on October 28, 2019 with application deadline of November 28, 2019 (Advertisement Enclosed at Annexure-I). A Pre-assessment test was conducted in January 2020 and trainings of all the eligible candidates were carried out in Four Cohorts from April to October 2020, followed by the placement process (around 350 out of 493 successfully trained Fellows have been placed at Host Higher Education Institutions for a period of one year). Now, HEC has announced the Batch II, on 7th March 2021 again, after a period of approximately one year and 3 months for the Ph.D holders who have secured degrees in last two years (Advertisement Enclosed at Annexure-II). Hence there are some Ph.Ds who were eligible to apply in last batch as well as are still eligible to apply in this batch if their age is not exceeding 40 years (d) As program has been announced in a timely manner so there is no requirement of age relaxation, as there is no such provision in program policy. Those who were eligible in last batch and didn’t complete the application process are themselves responsible for missing the chance. (Annexures have been placed in the National Assembly Library)

ISLAMABAD: TAHIR HUSSAIN, The 1st April, 2021. Secretary.

PCPPI—3367(2021) NA—01-04-2021—500.