ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary panel on Thursday recommended “The Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill 2022”.
A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior was held under the chairmanship of Senator Mohsin Aziz.
The committee strongly condemned the blast at Karachi University and expressed its sorrow over the death of a Chinese national and a Pakistani in the accident.
Expressing concern, the chairman of the committee said that the trend of terrorism is on the rise again and the survival of the country lies in stopping this wave of terrorism. Immediate and effective steps need to be taken in this regard, he added.
Senator Dost Mohammad Khan raised the issue of deaths due to land mines in North Waziristan. He said that deaths due to land mines are happening every week. He added that the compensation for those killed and injured is low which should be further increased.
The committee was informed that 25 people were killed while 45 injured during the last five years due to landmines.
It was further informed that Rs3 lakh is given to the relatives of the deceased while Rs1 lakh was given to the injured as compensation.
The committee recommended for doubling the compensation amount and the expenses of injured should be compensated entirely.
It was also suggested giving jobs to the heirs of the deceased.
The Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill 2022 was introduced in the committee by Senator Aziz. After discussion on the bill, the committee unanimously approved the bill.
The Prevention and Rehabilitation of Vagrants Bill 2022 was introduced by Seeme Ezdi. The committee and the Interior Ministry officials reviewed the bill clause by clause. After discussion on the bill, the committee approved the bill with some amendments. Senator Shahadat Awan also presented “The Provincial Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill 2022” in the committee.
The Law Ministry officials said that legal preparations in this regard have been completed and approval has also been given by the cabinet. Now only notification remains to be received from the Interior Ministry. The Home secretary said that a detailed report in this regard would be presented at the next meeting of the committee after which the chairman of the committee adjourned further discussion on the bill till the next meeting.
Senator Mushtaq Ahmed raised the issue of the Nadra offices in Dir and recruitment of women in it in the committee.
The Nadra officials told the committee that two Nadra mobile vans are operating in Lower Dir and one in Upper Dir. In addition, six centers have been set up. The center will open in July. He said that one woman would be made compulsory in these centers. At the request of the chairman committee, the Nadra officials reiterated to run another mobile van in Upper Dir. The chairman committee appreciated the work of Nadra.
Senator Fida Mohammad Khan raised the question as to why the Department of Libraries was shifted to H-9 Sector. What are the reasons for not appointing DG of the department for last six years? He said that when not only the DG but also the department was transferred. The Home secretary said that the Department of Libraries, first under CAD and then under National Heritage, is now attached to the Ministry of Interior through the Office of the Chief Commissioner.
The Interior secretary said that for the first time someone has drawn our attention to this. He said that the details will be shared with the committee in the next meeting.
MPAs from Hazara community of Balochistan also attended the committee meeting and apprised the committee of their community difficulties facing in obtaining passports.
They said that they have to travel for pilgrimage for which they need passports.
In Balochistan, it takes months to get a passport, and their cases are pending, the verification process lasts for about five months. They said that the documents required for the passport have to be signed by the Union Council chairman as well as MPA and MNA but MNAs are not selected from among them. The DG Passport and Immigration said that they would look into the matter themselves and provide facilities to the Hazara community as much as possible.
The Interior secretary asked the DG Passport and Immigration to send a special team to Balochistan to facilitate the Hazara community.
“We will do whatever we can in this matter”, he said. The chairman of the committee also directed to send a special team to Balochistan to facilitate the Hazara community in obtaining passports, remove the requirement of signature from the MNA and expedite the disposal of pending cases.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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