ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that Pakistan has effectively and forcefully highlighted the Kashmir dispute at the international level under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Speaking in the National Assembly on Friday, he said that Pakistan has registered major diplomatic successes on Kashmir and India is now resorting to a propaganda campaign to hide its failures including the one it faced at the United Nations Security Council.
He clarified that the stance of the present government on Kashmir is the same which is of the entire nation. He said India is in a defensive position like never before.
The National Assembly was also informed on Friday that an additional amount of Rs192 billion has been recovered as a result of PTI government’s successful campaign against power pilferage.
Minister for Power Omar Ayub Khan told the house during question hour that no load-shedding is being carried out on eighty percent feeders across the country.
He said the addition of 3,364 megawatts of power has been made in the national grid during the tenure of present government. He said the government is giving priority to the Thar coal and renewable energy to produce electricity.
Minister for Communications Murad Saeed told the house that National Highway Authority intends to dualize 790-kilometer long Chaman-Quetta-Karachi road.
He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the construction of the western route of China Pakistan Economic Corridor project.
Parliamentary Secretary for Human Rights Lal Chand told the house that a survey is being launched to determine the exact number of disabled persons in the country. He said the survey will help the government formulate suitable policies for the welfare of disabled persons.
Minister for Power Omer Ayub told the House that in the first phase, Saudi Arabia will make an investment of twenty billion dollars in Pakistan. He said this investment also include the construction of an oil refinery in Gwadar.
Parliamentary Secretary on Foreign Affairs Andleeb Abbas expressed concerns over the tension between the US and Iran. She said all the parties should resolve the matters through dialogue. She expressed satisfaction that the US President has now offered dialogue to his Iranian counterpart.
A number of bills were also introduced in the House on Friday. These include, The Superior Courts (Court Dress and Mode of Address) Order (Repeal) Bill, 2019, The Pakistan Coinage (Amendment) Bill, 2019, The Banks (Nationalization) (Amendment) bill, 2019, The Mutual Legal Assistance (Criminal Matters) Bill, 2019, The Loans for Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Purposes (Amendment) bill, 2019 and The Joint Maritime Information Organization Bill, 2019.
The House also passed a resolution to extend the Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority Ordinance, 2019 for a further period of 120 days. A number of ordinances were also laid before the House on Friday.
These include “The Pakistan Penal Code (Amendment) Ordinance 2019”, “Federal Government Employees Housing Authority Ordinance, 2019”, “National Counter Terrorism Authority (Amendment) Ordinance 2019” and “National Information Technology Board Ordinance, 2019.
The House adopted an amendment providing for the election of more than one Standing Committee for a ministry having more than one division and where divisions are headed by separate ministers. The House will now meet on Monday at 5 pm.
