ISLAMABAD: The Senate was informed on Thursday that an assistance of over Rs466 billion have been provided to BISP beneficiaries since 2012.
Responding to a question during Question Hour, Minister of State for Finance Rana Muhammad Afzal said that 125,714 beneficiaries were found doubtful as a result of scrutiny and, therefore, their payment was blocked.
He said that disciplinary action was initiated against BISP officials involved in irregularities. Replying to another question, Rana Muhammad Afzal said that the government has prepared a road map to pay back the loan amount of $3.3 billion due in June this year.
He said that the entire foreign loan taken by the government has been spent on development projects. He said Pakistan’s credibility is very well intact as there is not a single default in paying back foreign loans. He assured the House that a proper system will be in place to maintain foreign exchange reserves.
Answering another question, Minister for Science and Technology Rana Tanvir Hussain informed the House that the government has increased research and development budget up to Rs200 million in the last two years which is point three per cent of the GDP.
Six bills were introduced in the House. These include: “The Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (Amendment) Bill, 2018”, “The Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2018”, “The Specific Relief (Amendment) Bill, 2018”, “The Limitation Relating to Civil Revisions Bill, 2018”, “The Federal Ombudsman Institutional Reforms (Amendment) Bill, 2018” and “The Federal Judicial Academy (Amendment) Bill, 2018”.
The chair referred the bills to the concerned standing committees of the House. The House was adjourned to meet again tomorrow (Friday) at 10:30 a.m. due to lack of quorum.
