Subordinate departments of ministry: Report about actions taken in response to corruption cases sought

ISLAMABAD: A National Assembly panel, on Friday, expressed dissatisfaction over the insufficient measures to prevent corruption in subordinate departments of the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resources Development, seeking a comprehensive report about the actions to be taken on the reported cases of corruption.

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, which met with Sheikh Fayyazuddin in the chair, expressed concern over non-implementation of its previous recommendations for prevention of corruption and embezzlement in various sub-ordinate department of the ministry.

Reviewing the compliance status of its previous recommendations, the panel noted that the actions taken by the ministry in compliance with its recommendations regarding prevention of corruption and embezzlement being done in various sub-ordinate departments of the ministry were "not satisfactory".

The committee directed that a comprehensive report based on actual facts and figures, should be provided to it before the next meeting of the committee.

About the issue of welfare of mineworkers, Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Secretary Ishrat Ali said that as per the directions of the committee, Employees' Old Age Benefits Institute (EOBI) and the provincial governments were requested to devise a policy to register the mineworkers on the basis of quantity of production as well as initiate a proper legislation for their betterment.

He said the ministry has already submitted a draft policy regarding registration of the mines and mineworkers on tonnage and production basis in compliance with the recommendations of the committee.

However, the committee expressed dissatisfaction over the briefing and directed the ministry to come up with complete details and brief the committee in its next meeting.

About issue of GuliRozi, wife of Ghulam Durrani, stuck in China since 2016, Director General (China Division), Ministry of Foreign Affairs Faraz Zaidi informed the committee that the matter has been taken up with the Chinese authorities.

He said the Chinese authorities had conveyed that GuliRozi was not willing to come back to Pakistan and decided to settle there on her own "sweet will".

He further said that the concerned department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would approach Rozi and further details would be submitted in the next meeting of the committee.

The meeting was attended by Shahid Ahmad, Sajid Khan, Zulfiqar Ali Khan Dullah, Imtiaz Ahmed Choudhary, Atta Ullah, Sobia Kamal Khan, Tashfeen Safdar, Syed Javed Hasnain, Zahra Wadood Fatemi, Syed Abrar Ali Shah, Mahreen Razzaq Bhutto and, Muhammad Jamalud Din, besides by senior officials of the concerned ministries and departments.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021