1 (46th Session) NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SECRETARIAT ———— “QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWERS AND THEIR REPLIES” to be asked at a sitting of the National Assembly to be held on Monday, the 18th September, 2017 89. *Sheikh Salahuddin: (Deferred during 44th Session) Will the Minister for Interior be pleased to state: (a) whether it is a fact that sectarian hatred and violences are being spread in the country through Print, Electronic and Social Media; and (b) whether there is any proposal under consideration of the Government to formulate a national policy thereof; if so, when it will be implemented; if not, the reasons thereof? Reply not received. 102. *Begum Tahira Bukhari: (Deferred during 44th Session) Will the Minister for Planning, Development and Reform be pleased to state the names of projects completed and under completion under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor? Minister In-charge of the Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform: The list is at Annex-I. (Annexure has been placed in the National Assembly Library) 2 108. *Ms. Aisha Syed: (Deferred during 44th Session) Will the Minister for Planning, Development and Reform be pleased to state the steps being taken by the Government to control the un- employment and to provide employments to youth in the country? Minister In-charge of the Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform: Steps being taken by the Government to control unemployment and provide employment to youth in the country are as follows: Direct measures to promote employment Prime Minister’s Youth Business Loan Scheme. Interest Free Loan Scheme. Overseas employment facilities for technical/ skilled and unskilled youth labour force. Employment generation in CPEC Program. Macro-economic stability and larger Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) for employment generation. Imparting technical/ vocational training in employable skills. Prime Minister’s Youth Training Scheme. Prime Minister’s Hunermand Pakistan Program. Prime Minister’s Youth Skill Development Program (Phase-I, II, III). President “Fanni Maharat” Program. Skills Development through National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC). Skills Development through National Training Bureau (NTB). Employment situation in the country has improved under the present government. Unemployment rate of 6.24% in 2012-13 has decreased to 5.94% in 2014-15 as per the latest Labour Force Survey conducted by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. 3 112. *Ms. Mussarrat Ahmadzeb: (Deferred during 44th Session) Will the Minister for Planning, Development and Reform be pleased to state: (a) the distribution of Hydro, Solar and Wind Energy Projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor; and (b) the contribution of said projects in the National Grid at present? Minister In-charge of the Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform: (a) The list is at Annex-I. (b) Currently, the following projects have been completed and subsequently contributing to national grid: 1. Sahiwal Coal Power Plant: 1320 MW 2. Hydro China Dawood Power Ltd (Wind): 50 MW 3. UEP Wind Power Pvt. Ltd: 100 MW 4. Sachal Energy Development (Pvt.) Ltd (Wind): 100 MW 5. Quaid-e-Azam Solar Power Park 300 MW completed out of 1000 MW. ANNEX-I CPEC ENERGY PROJECTS (HYDRO, SOLAR, WIND) —————————————————————————————— S.NO. PROJECT NAME —————————————————————————————— HYDRO —————————————————————————————— 1. Sukki Kinari Hydropower Project 2. Karot Hydropower Project 3. Kohala Hydro Power Project —————————————————————————————— 4 —————————————————————————————— S.NO. PROJECT NAME —————————————————————————————— 4. Development of hydro projects along the north Indus River including Basha Hydropower Project —————————————————————————————— SOLAR —————————————————————————————— 1. Quaid-e-Azam Solar Power Park —————————————————————————————— WIND —————————————————————————————— 1. Hydro China Dawood Power Ltd. 2. UEP Wind Power Pvt. Ltd. 3. Sachal Energy Development (Pvt.) Ltd 4. Three Gorges Wind Farms 5. Cacho 50MW Wind Power Project 6. Western (Pvt.) Ltd. 50MW Wind Power Project —————————————————————————————— 116. *Dr. Nafisa Shah: (Transferred from 45th Session) Will the Minister for Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs be pleased to state: (a) the current account deficit of the country since 01-01-2013 alongwith the reasons thereof; and (b) the steps taken by the Government to control it during the said period? Minister for Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs (Mr. Muhammad Ishaq Dar): (a) Current account deficit, on calendar year basis, was $2.34 billion on 31st December, 2012 and $4.4 billion on 31st December 2013. The deficit then followed a declining path from January, 2014 and reached $3.6 billion by December 2014, due to growth in workers’ remittances and reduction in global oil prices. The aforesaid factors further reduced the current account deficit to $2.8 billion by December 2015. The consistent improvement in 5 current account supplemented by healthy financial inflows led to stability of foreign exchange reserves. Current account in the following years, however, did not maintain the pattern owing to pick up in real economic activity. There has been increased investments in energy and infrastructure sectors which has boosted demand for import of power generating machinery and energy. As imports increased, exports faced a declining trend due to the subdued demand, depressed commodity prices globally which coupled with the energy shortages and law and order situation in the country. There was also decline in remittances due to tight budgetary conditions in GCC countries as a result of low oil prices, strict regulatory requirements in USA and depreciation of pound sterling against US dollar. (b) The Government is cognizant of worsening current account deficit and has taken the following steps to contain it: Export package of Rs. 180 billion has been given to boost exports. Un-interrupted energy supplies to export sectors. · Imposition of regulatory duties on import of a large number of non-essential items and enforcement of 100 percent cash margin requirement. Strengthening Pakistan Remittance Initiative (PRI) through improvement in transaction efficiency and better incentives. The negative trend in exports is bottoming out and Government initiatives have shown positive results as exports have increased by 11.8% and workers’ remittances by 13.2% during July-August, 2017. 117. *Ms. Sajida Begum: (Transferred from 45th Session) Will the Minister for Interior be pleased to refer to the Starred Question No.228 replied on 18-08-2017 and to state the total number of fire extinguisher helicopters with Islamabad Fire Brigrade at present? Reply not received. 6 118. *Ms. Shakila Luqman: (Transferred from 45th Session) Will the Minister for Interior be pleased to state the steps taken by the present Government to control cyber crimes? Minister for Interior (Mr. Ahsan Iqbal): Following steps have been taken by the present Government to control Cyber Crimes:— Through promulgation of Prevention Electronic Crime Act, 2016 in August 2016, FIA has been designated as the investigation agency for taking cognizance under this Act. FIA Cyber Crime Unit, National Response Centre for Cyber Crime (NR3C) is Currently operating in Pakistan with its five Cyber Crime Police Stations along with the digital forensic laboratory in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta. In order to facilitate the public, FIA has introduced the complaint reporting system, through which complaint can be accepted through phone, email or online website. A total of 7992 complaints of cyber crimes have been reported (18-08-2016 to 30-06-2017) and investigations are under-way to finalize these complaints. Cyber crime, being transnational crime, demands an extensive cooperation among countries, specifically with USA, for evidence collection and effective prosecution. Under Section 42 of PECA, efforts are underway to seek assistance from the US based Digital Companies, through Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty or International Cyber- Crime Convention. Cyber-crime, being digital crime, demands an extensive knowledge and expertise in the field of network and information security. For this reason, FIA has imparted trainings and conducted workshop on recent digital threats to its Investigators and Forensic Experts. 119. *Ms. Khalida Mansoor: (Transferred from 45th Session) Will the Minister for Interior be pleased to refer to the Starred Question No. 147 replied on 18-08-2017 and to state the average under-ground water level in Islamabad at present? Reply not received. 7 120. *Ms. Nighat Parveen Mir: (Transferred from 45th Session) Will the Minister for Interior be pleased to state the number of rented buildings of District Court and administration in Islamabad at present alongwith the reasons thereof? Reply not received. 121. *Dr. Mahreen Razaque Bhutto: (Transferred from 45th Session) Will the Minister for Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs be pleased to state: (a) the funds allocated in the budget 2017-18 for small businesses and retailers; and (b) whether it is a fact that the non-essential items being taxed will result to create price hike for consumers? Reply not received. 122. *Shaikh Rohale Asghar: (Transferred from 45th Session) Will the Minister for Interior be pleased to refer to the Starred Question No. 228 replied on 18-08-2017 and to state: (a) the total number of fire extinguishing vehicles with Fire Brigade, Islamabad at present; and (b) whether state of the art and high stair vehicles are with the Fire Brigade?