State Minister for Foreign Affairs Amad Malik told Senate on Tuesday that as many as 848 Pakistani prisoners are languishing in the Indian jails, including 63 civilians and 785 fishermen, while 570 Indian prisoners are in Pakistani jails, including 60 civilian and 510 fishermen.
Amad Malik said that 79 Pakistani prisoners are in Indian jails, who have completed their sentence, and government of Pakistan regularly raises the issue of repatriation of all Pakistani prisoners with India. He said that it is a humanitarian issue and ministry is working on priority basis and resolving the issue with the efforts of High Commission of Pakistan in New Dehli, Pakistan-Indian Judicial Committee and Consular access agreement.
Minister for Special Initiatives Lal Muhammad Khan told the house that through the Clean Drinking Water Initiative programme (CDWI) and other project Clean Drinking Water for All (CDWA) 102, and 319 plants have been installed in Balochistan respectively.
Lal Khan said these water plants are being cleaned up on regular basis adding that the operation and maintenance of the water filtration plants is to be carried by the contracting firms for three years after their installation. Senator Dr Khurshid Soomro highlighted the issue and said that in Karachi city over one million people are suffering from various diseases due to contaminated water.
Minister for Industries and Production Mir Hazar Khan Bijrani said government would provide 35 percent quota to the local transport companies for transportation at Gwadar Port. On the issue of Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation, Bijrani said that government was also making efforts to convert the Mill into a profit-generating unit. Bijrani said, in Sindh 1039 and in NWFP 1024 Utility Stores, are operating while government is implementing on a policy to open Utility Stores in each Union Council for the facilitation of people.