Pak to sign 1,000MW deal with Iran

Pakistan will sign an agreement with Iran to import 1,000 megawatts of electricity, while Pakistan Railways has involved the private sector to rehabilitate aging locomotives and develop dry ports, the National Assembly (NA) was told on Thursday as it resumed its session with Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi in the chair.
Replying to a call attention notice moved by Sheikh Salahuddin and others‚ Parliamentary Secretary for Cabinet Division Khurram Jahangir Wattoo told the House that the agreement would be signed with Iran to import 1,000 megawatts of electricity.
He said the government was also focusing on Thar Coal to meet power requirements through cheap indigenous resources.
The parliamentary secretary said that the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) had not raised the power tariff under fuel adjustment mechanism, because the Islamabad High Court had put a bar on it in October last year. He said that of the total, 24 percent electricity was being produced from hydropower, 42 percent from furnace oil, and 25 percent from natural gas.
The NA was also informed that Pakistan Railways was procuring 275 new locomotives and repairing old ones to provide better travelling facilities and control the losses.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar told the House in a written reply that the government had put in place a mechanism to help those who require evacuation from Syria. The Pakistan Embassy in Beirut has been made responsible to extend facility in this regard after the temporary closure of our mission in Damascus‚ she said.
Responding to a call attention notice moved by Nisar Tanvir and others‚ Minister for Religious Affairs Khurshid Ahmad Shah said the present government had given a package of Rs 10 to 12 billion to Pakistan Steel Mills to make it a profitable entity. He said the package would help enhance the production capacity of Pakistan Steel Mills to 40 million tonnes.
JUI-F’s walkout: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) staged a walkout from the National Assembly against the imposition of governor’s rule in Balochistan.
While the state minister for commerce was responding to supplementary questions by the members during the question hour, JUI-F member Attaur Rehman stood up and announced to boycott the proceedings in protest against the imposition of governor’s rule. He left the house along with other members of his party.
NA Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi, who was presiding over the House, asked Defence Minister Naveed Qamar to go and persuade the members to return but he kept sitting, giving a clear indication that the government was least concerned about the protest by the JUI-F.