The National Assembly was informed on Thursday that a series of steps have been taken by the government to establish new industries, promote the Made in Pakistan concept and enhance employment opportunities in the country.
Minister for Industries and Production Syed Murtaza Mahmud in a written reply told the house during question hour that under Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy, thirty mobile manufacturers have been issued licenses to start local manufacturing of mobile devices by setting up local facilities.
The Minister said Green Field Technology is another initiative for both import substitution and export enhancement. Under this scheme, different incentives in terms of taxes and duties are given to the companies by FBR who bring new technologies.
He said the Engineering Development Board is in process of formulating a number of policies to promote local production and export. These include Solar Panel Manufacturing Policy and Agricultural implements Manufacturing Policy.
Minister for National Food Security Tariq Bashir Cheema informed the house that wheat seeds will be provided to the district administrations of Sindh and Balochistan provinces between 1st and 15th of next month for their onward distribution to the farmers ravaged by the floods.
He said the National Disaster Management Authority has been requested to procure the best available seeds. He said a tender for the seeds procurement will be opened on the 26th of this month.
Tariq Bashir Cheema said that nine billion rupees have been reappropriated from a PSDP and a World Bank Program for the procurement of wheat and oil seeds. He said maximum efforts are being made for the rehabilitation of flood affected people.
Alluding to the water receding in Sindh province, the Minister for National Food Security was confident that sufficient land will be available in the province for the cultivation of wheat. He said that oil seeds will be cultivated where the land could not be prepared for wheat cultivation.
The Minister for National Food Security said there is no wheat crisis in the country as sufficient wheat has been imported. He said the seeds will also be provided to the flood affected farmers in sufficient quantity.
Responding to a calling attention notice, Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman said a national adaptation plan is being prepared for building resilience to climate change. She said Sindh province has also given its climate change policy and other provinces should follow the suit.
The Minister for Climate Change said Pakistan is seeking climate justice from the world community to cope with the challenge posed by recent devastating floods.
Minister for Poverty Alleviation Shazia Marri said the government is heading in the right direction to address the woes of flood affected people. She said it is a national catastrophe and there should be no politics on matter relief and rehabilitation of flood affected population. She said the Prime Minister has directed the Power Minister to visit the flood affected areas of Sindh to address the electricity supply problems.
Minister for Poverty Alleviation Shazia Marri said a dynamic registry will be prepared to include more deserving families in Benazir Income Support Program. She said out of seventy billion rupees, 66.22 billion rupees have been disbursed amongst the flood affected families across the country.
Parliamentary Secretary for Railways Kiran Imran Dar said efforts are efforts to recover the encroached land of Pakistan Railways. She said 952.13 acres of land has been retrieved during different anti encroachment operations in the last five years.
The National Assembly today also passed a resolution, expressing the resolve to continue efforts for a better future of Pakistan by placing children at the center of development and recognizing their individuality.
The resolution moved by Mehnaz Akbar Aziz congratulated the formation of an all parties parliamentary caucus on Child Rights. It recognized that this caucus is an invaluable forum that will help in advancing , protecting and uplifting children of Pakistan besides eliminating all forms of violence and abuse against them.
The house today adopted amendments in the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly.
Under the amendments, approval of the speaker shall be required before the arrest and detention of a member on a criminal charge, and that no member shall be arrested within the precincts of the Assembly. The production order of an arrested member has also been declared mandatory while the speaker has been authorized to declare parliament lodges or any other suitable place in Islamabad as sub-jail for the arrested member.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Defense Khawaja Asif said it is the right of every member to represent his constituency in the house.
The house will now meet tomorrow at eleven am.
