The National Assembly was informed on Thursday that the Election Commission is studying whether the next general elections could be held through Electronic Voting Machines or not. During question hour, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Sheikh Aftab Ahmad said the system is only working in India and the ECP is studying merits and demerits of the system.
"The EVMs have not been purchased and it's also not a fact that the next general elections would be held through electronic voting machines," he said. Answering a question, Sheikh Aftab Ahmad said Faisalabad-Multan Motorway is being constructed in four phases. The first phase of Faisalabad-Gojra Motorway has already been completed while work on the rest three phases is going on.
He said the overlay and modernisation of 357 kilometer Islamabad-Lahore Motorway will be completed in 24 months. To a question, regarding pending cases in Civil Courts at Islamabad Capital Territory, Minister for Law and Justice Pervaiz Rashid informed the House that civil courts are governed by the Islamabad High Court.
"The principle of independence of judiciary is sacred in our system," he said, adding that the Law Division has requested the registrar Islamabad High Court and district and session judges Islamabad to provide the information. However, the needed information from the relevant quarters is still awaited.
To a question, Parliamentary Secretary for Natural Resources Shahzadi Umarzadi Tiwana denied any ban on the installation of gas meters for domestic consumers. "Moratorium has been imposed on provision of new industrial and commercial gas connections in the country due to a huge gap between demand and supply of the natural gas," she said. She said the government has allowed private sector to import LNG and incentives have also been given in the private sector for this purpose. Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Resources Jam Kamal told the House that the price of imported LNG will be a bit higher than CNG. "The import of CNG and re-gasification of LNG under its own arrangements with private LNG developers have been allowed," he said.
He said that in order to make the price of LNG based CNG attractive and competitive for end consumer, the government has approved that there would be no GIDC on LNG based CNG industry, moreover 5 percent General Sales Tax would be levied on it instead of 17 percent.
In a written reply to a question, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that under the fast track LNG project, the government is planning to import 200 MMCFD in the first year and 400 MMCFD in the second year onward. "Estimated economic benefit of import of LNG viz-a-viz liquid fuels will be available once the price of LNG is finalised with Qatar gas which is under negotiations," he said.
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