Tag: Ministry

ISLAMABAD - A spokesman of Ministry of Environment has refuted a news item regarding leave of Director General (Pak EPA) published in Pakistan Today and clarified that Asif Sujha Khan was never asked for any illegal acts and no body forced him for issuing any NOC for housing schemes.
The spokesman said the DG (Pak EPA) had proceeded on leave on his own and no hurdle was created in any mega project as the DG (Pak EPA) was fully authorized to exercise delegated powers.
He

ISLAMABAD - The National Assembly Standing Committee on Education has decided to forward its recommendations in next two days to the implementation committee against the devolution of the ministry of education under the 18th amendment.
This was decided in the meeting on Monday under the Chairmanship of Abid Sher Ali. Abid Sher Ali, talking to reporters, said within next two days he would present unanimously passed recommendations of the committee to Senator Raza Rabani, chairman

KARACHI - The Ministry of Law has pointed certain objections in the Margin Trading System's (MTS) draft and has sent it back to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), thus putting fate of the long-awaited leverage product in abeyance.
Unconfirmed reports, however, reveal that the law ministry has approved and referred the MTS draft to the apex regulator, which is to be launched in the first week of next month. Market sources told Pakistan Today that the

ISLAMABAD - Nineteen people were arrested from Peshawar and Islamabad during Hajj for carrying drugs, a press release by narcotics control ministry on Sunday.
Three persons were given death penalties and 278 were given life imprisonments by the special courts, the statement said, adding that during 2010, Pakistan seized 4688 kg Heroin, 3784 kg Opium, 44,600 kg Acetic Anhydride (a precursor chemical used in Heroin labs) and 83,233 kg Hashish.
"Narcotics Control has

ISLAMABAD
ASMA KUNDI
Controversy over monitoring of federal capital's environment after the devolution of Ministry of Environment is creating tension among the employees in Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Pakistan Environment Protection Agency (Pak-EPA).
Officials in both departments said that the higher authorities in Pak-EPA and CDA had been discussing transfer of powers to monitor the environment of the capital.
"The discussion turned into controversy,

ISLAMABAD - No initiative was taken by the government and the fund provided for health remained insufficient during 2010. The government officials rested content, saying that there was no need to launch a new project since they could not spare time from the 10 old ones, which were 'sufficient'. However, because of rampant corruption and mismanagement,
these programmes could not create a major stir in the deplorable health conditions in the country. Millions of rupees were pumped

ISLAMABAD - The Ministry for Environment's Core Group on Climate Change held its meeting on Wednesday with Secretary for Environment, Muhammad Javaid Malik in the chair.
Issues pertaining to climate change were deliberated and former state minister for environment Malik Amin Aslam gave a presentation on National Environment and Economic Development and highlighted environmental situation of the country and its impact on the economy. Participants also gave recommendations and

ISLAMABAD: The government's plan to devolve 5 ministries to the provinces is likely to come undone as the Federal Education Ministry and the National Assembly Standing Committee on Education opposed the devolution under the 18th constitutional amendment in unison at a meeting of the of the committee on Tuesday, chaired by Member of the National Assembly Abid Sher Ali.
The chairman of the education committee directed the Education Ministry to submit a detailed proposal to it in

ISLAMABAD: The Education Ministry is blatantly violating the government's labour policy by paying Rs 6,000 in salary to its employees working on contractual basis, Pakistan Today has learnt. According to the labour policy, the minimum salary of workers should not be less than Rs 7,000 per month but two attached departments of the Education Ministry were openly violating the labour policy.
This sheer violation of government rules right under the nose of Parliament House goes

ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for Education Sardar Aseff Ahmed Ali has again opposed the devolution of the Education Ministry to provinces under the 18th Amendment.
Addressing a meeting of Pakistan Educational Task Force (PETF) on Saturday, Aseff said the devolution of the ministry would be counter-productive. He said, "The Education Ministry is overseeing the affairs of more than 14 million students and seventy nine thousand teachers of the Islamabad Capital Territory, FATA,

KARACHI: Following the devolution of Federal Zakat and Ushr Ministry under the 18th Constitutional Amendment, plans are underway to establish the Sindh Zakat Administration, Pakistan Today has learnt.
Sindh's Zakat & Ushr Department has a forwarded a summary to the Law Department for vetting of the proposed legislation required for setting up the authority, as well as the approval of chief minister, sources told Pakistan Today.
Prior to the devolution of the Zakat ministry

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday directed Religious Affairs Secretary Sarwar Qazalbash to submit before the court a certificate pertaining to return of 1,000 Saudi riyals each to the pilgrims who were not provided with adequate facilities during the performance of Hajj.
A seven-member special bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Tasadduq Hussain Jilani, Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed, Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Justice Ghulam

ISLAMABAD: Interior Ministry has failed to produce the reconciled accounts worth Rs 515 million, it collected as fee for arms licences during April 2008 to June 2009 despite repeated directions from the Auditor General of Pakistan, Pakistan Today learnt.
The Interior Division issued 88,838 arms licences during the said period. Fee for these licences was estimated Rs 515 million and it was to be deposited into the government treasury. However, the receipts were not reconciled

ISLAMABAD: The petroleum minister has drawn a new plan to counter the petroleum products' shortage by stressing private oil marketing companies (OMC) to build more oil depots at centralised places and establish refineries in the northern parts of the country. According to official sources, the plan was made after the suspension of oil supply due to the floods in July this year.
They said the supply position at present was normal as local refineries were producing 4,000 tons of

ISLAMABAD: Religious Affairs Secretary Agha Sarwar Qazilbash on Saturday told the special committee of the Public Accounts Committee that his ministry had not yet received any directions from the prime minister regarding the role of the Foreign Ministry in Haj affairs.
The special committee of the PAC met with Riaz Hussain Pirzada in the chair to review audit reports of the Ministry of Religious Affairs for the year 1996-97. Qazilbash told the committee that investigations into

ISLAMABAD: The Food and Agriculture Ministry sent a summary to the prime minister for the removal of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) Chairman Dr Zafar Altaf, a PARC source told Pakistan Today on Saturday.
The tenure of Dr Zafar Altaf had expired on August 11, this year but he continued holding office without obtaining extension in his service. Taking notice of the issue, National Assembly Standing Committee on Food and Agriculture had asked the ministry to take up

ISLAMABAD: In what appeared to be a major set back to the devolution process, the Senate Standing Committee on Culture and Tourism on Monday passed a unanimous resolution demanding the government not devolve the ministry to the provinces under the 18th Amendment.
The committee also decided to approach the president, prime minister and chairman implementation commission on the issue. The meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Culture and Tourism was presided over by Senator