Senate passes drug regulatory authority bill

The Senate unanimously passed The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan Bill 2012 on Wednesday.
The Upper House of parliament was informed that over Rs 144 billion had been provided to public sector universities from 2008 to 2012.
During the Question Hour, Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani told the House that the Higher Education Commission allocated funds to universities on need and performance basis through a funding formula approved by the commission.
To a question‚ Leader of the House Jahangir Badr said a total of 3,568 scholarships had been provided to students for education abroad during the last five years. He said the students of FATA and Balochistan could avail scholarships both on merit and quota systems.
To another question‚ Badr said nine locations had been tentatively selected for the burial of entrails‚ offal and carcasses of sacrificial animals on Eidul Azha. Badr told the Senate that two plans were underway to overcome the shortage of water in the federal capital. He said an MoU had been signed with China under which 100 million gallons of water would be provided to Islamabad from Tarbela Dam.
He said in cooperation with the Punjab government, the CDA intended to build a dam near Islamabad. “This reservoir will have the capacity to store 15 million gallons of water‚ of which half will be provided to Rawalpindi and the other half to Islamabad,” he said. Minister for National Regulations and Services Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan laid before the House the Annual Report of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan 2011.
The Senate unanimously passed The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan Bill 2012 that was moved by Firdous.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said no decision had so far been taken for a military operation in North Waziristan. He said such decision‚ if any‚ would be made jointly by the military and the political leadership. He said the head money on Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan had been increased to Rs 100 million. Malik assured the House that stern action would be taken against militants involved in terrorism. The House offered special prayers for the recovery of Malala Yusufzai. Referring to the Balochistan issue, Malik said the government wanted to hold dialogue with those who respected the flag and constitution of Pakistan. He suggested forming a committee comprising a member each from major political parties to visit Balochistan and hold dialogue with the estranged Baloch leaders.