NA Passes FPSC Amendment Bill And Criminal Law Amendment Bills 2017

NA passes FPSC Amendment Bill and Criminal Law Amendment Bills 2017

The National Assembly on Tuesday passed two bills.

ISLAMABAD, (Pakistan Point News - 13th Feb, 2018) : The National Assembly on Tuesday passed two bills. These are Federal Public Service Commission, Amendment Bill 2017 and The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2017. PPP leader Shazia Marri proposed amendments in the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of business in National Assembly suggesting that one fourth of the total strength of committees shall compromised of women members. The chair referred the amendments to the relevant standing committee for further deliberations.

The National Assembly today passed a resolution urging the government to take steps to reduce the prices of petroleum products. It was moved by Sahibzada Muhammad Yaqub. In the second resolution, presented by Belum Hasnain, the government was asked to take immediate steps to promote religious harmony. Speaking on the resolution, Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousuf said the present government has taken a series of steps to promote interfaith harmony.

The Minister said festivals of minorities including that of holi and Easter are also marked at the official level to promote religious harmony and ensure peaceful coexistence. Responding to a call attention notice moved by Syed Naveed Qamar, Minister of State for Finance Rana Muhammad Afzal told the House the government has allocated 1001 billion rupees this year for provision of loans to the farmers. He said the loans are disbursed on the basis of cultivable land, recovery rate and credit requirements of the provinces.

He rejected the impression that there is disparity in disbursement of farm loans between Punjab and the rest of the country. He pointed out that as compared to Punjab's 41.23 percent, the loan disbursement growth in Sindh stood at 60.39, Balochistan sixty two percent and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa forty three percent during the first six months of current fiscal year. Rising on a point of order, Leader of Opposition Khurshid Shah said the interest rate on agriculture loan is high as compared to the one given to the industries.

He proposed that a committee of the House should be constituted to consider matters pertaining to reducing the interest rate on agri loans and improving the disbursement method. In his response, Minister of State for Finance Rana Muhammad Afzal Khan stated that the agriculture subject stands devolved and responsibility also rests with the provinces to take a leading role in the development of the important sector.

Maira Azam

Maira Azam is currently enrolled in University of Punjab as a student of communication studies. She has got esthetic sense of photography and aims to groom herself as a skilled photographer.