The National Assembly was informed on Wednesday that the government has taken a number of steps to improve the operation of PIA that will ensure the timely arrival and departure of flights during Hajj and the routine schedule.
Minister for Defence Syed Naveed Qamar told the House during question hour that presently PIA is operating on 38 international and 24 domestic routes with a fleet of 38 aircraft.
He said government is planning to induct some aircraft on dry lease to meet immediate operational requirements and tenders have been floated in this regard. He said for better management and coordination the departments of the organization have been reduced to seven from fourteen.
To another question‚ he said PIA had introduced ten new domestic routes during the last four years to provide facility to the passengers traveling within the country.
To a question‚ Minister for National Heritage and Integration Samina Khalid Ghurki informed the House that the government took a number of steps to preserve the Islamic Heritage in the country.
She said although the departments of the Ministry have been devolved to the provinces and Islamic Heritages were preserved in the concerned provinces where they were located but at the federal level a full-fledged display has also been made at the National Museum in Islamabad, she said.
The National Assembly resumed its session in Islamabad on Wednesday with Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi in the chair.
At the outset of the proceedings‚ the House offered Fateha for those killed in the fire incidents in Lahore and Karachi and in the rain and flood related incidents throughout the country.
