Minister for parliamentary affairs Dr Babar Awan on Wednesday said that it had not proved yet that Ajmal Kasab arrested by India in connection with Mumbai attacks was a Pakistani citizen. He informed the National Assembly that it is incumbent upon all of us including media not to go on hypothesis. The minister was responding to a question raised by MQM MNA Waseem Akhtar Sheikh on a point of order.
Waseem said that certain news channels and some papers were trying to prove that Ajmal Kasab was a Pakistani. "This is done purely in unpatriotic manner. The government must clarify its position on the issue and refrain media from airing or publishing baseless news items," he said. Babar Awan agreed with the assertion of the MNA and said that it was our collective responsibility to give factual reporting on the sensitive issues. Speaker National Assembly Dr Fehmida Mirza also supported the idea.
State Minister for Information, Samsam Bukhari said that the ministry had no objections if the government decides to give any instructions to the concerned media organisation. However, the house did not pass any instructions. Babar Awan said that media must play a responsible role. Meanwhile, Minister for Human Rights Syed Mumtaz Alam Gilani introduced the National Commission for Human Rights Bill, 2008 for setting up National Commission for Human Rights.
Replying to a call attention notice Advisor on Interior Rehman Malik assured the House that the government will take action against private housing societies indulging in fraudulent activities in capital. He said if some people have lost their money the government was ready to assist them in getting this amount recovered. The call attention notice was moved by Asiya Nasir and four other members.
Advisor also informed the House that during a raid on Tuesday against a forex agent, the FIA recovered 8.35 million dollars and seized the record. He said in an earlier case, illegal transactions worth Rs 200 billion were identified.
Responding to a question Parliamentary Secretary for Communications Chaudhry Saeed Iqbal told the House that the National Highway Authority (NHA) is collecting toll tax worth Rs 8.5 billion annually for maintenance of 12,500 kilometres of highways and roads.
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