The government is struggling to keep the circular debt at the lowest, which now stands at Rs 310 billion, while recovery of bills has improved from 85 percent to 91 percent. Minister of State for Interior Balighur Rehman said this in the Senate on Monday while responding to a debate on a motion moved by PTI Senator Azam Khan regarding present position of the circular debt and its overall impact on smooth supply of electricity to consumers across the country.
The minister said that line losses have also reduced from 19.2 percent to 17 percent due to consistent efforts of the government. "The latest figures available with the government show the circular debt at Rs 310 billion contrary to claims of some Senators of 661 billion rupees," he said. Earlier speaking on the issue, Khan said the government paid Rs 480 billion to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) with a tall claim of ending the circular debt forever. "It is imperative to get rid of the circular debt as this directly impacts the consumers and economy of the country," he said. Khan said Punjab has to pay Rs 32 billion, Sindh Rs 67 billion, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa Rs 36 billion and Balochistan Rs 25 billion against the circular debt. "It seems as if the International Monetary Fund has been controlling whole economy of Pakistan as all economic measures are initiated only after getting prod from the IMF," he said.
During the PML-N government the rate of electricity per unit has gone up from Rs 9 to Rs 14 while oil price has plummeted from $110 to around $40 in the international market, said Senator Mohsin Aziz. He said the circular debt has been adversely impacting industrial and economic growth. PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar said that a latest audit report points out the government paid Rs 342 billion to PEPCO without doing pre-audit of the IPPs. "The government should investigate the matter and punish the culprits irrespective of the fact how high their positions or how low their characters are," he said.
The Senators also demanded a technical and financial audit of all the IPPs to ascertain their generation capacity and embezzlement, if any, in consumption of the oil provided by the government. Responding to a motion moved by Senator Muhammad Javed regarding increasing human trafficking from Pakistan to overseas, Minister of State for Interior Balighur Rehman said the government has been working hard to improve economy and employment in the country to curb human trafficking.
The minister said the government has launched an effective campaign against human smugglers and traffickers and so far over 250 raids have been conducted across the country with hundreds arrested and passports confiscated. Federal Investigation Agency has arrested 329 human smugglers and 10 most wanted human traffickers, he said, adding the Inter Agency Task Force's interceptions against the culprits have increased from 4,382 in 2012 to 6,138 in 2015. He said the government has received only 20 cases of forged documents this year while laws regarding human trafficking are also being revisited.
Earlier speaking on the issue, the Senators urged the government to improve economic condition of people living below poverty line as they remain most vulnerable to human traffickers. They also urged the government to strengthen relevant laws by introducing cogent amendments and enhancing punishment for culprits. Minister for Climate Change Zahid Hamid informed the House that the matter regarding procedure for appointment of Chairman and Members of the Federal Service Tribunal was sub judice as the case is before the Supreme Court.
The Senate passed a bill called "The Islamabad Compulsory Vaccination and Protection of Health Workers Bill, 2015." The house also adopted recommendations on the Money Bill, further to amend the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001. The House also adopted a resolution recommending the government to evolve a mechanism to take care of families of the martyrs of terrorists' incidents in the country. It recommended that they should be provided reasonable financial assistance on monthly basis to help meet their day-to-day needs.
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