ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly was informed on Friday that Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) had earned around Rs59-60million profit in the first quarter (January-March) of the current year.
During question hour, the parliamentary secretary for railways, Kiran Imran Dar, said that the national flag carrier is paying Rs60 million mark-up on financial loans obtained from time to time.
She said that the airlines’ losses decreased during 2020 and 2021 mainly due to the Covid-19 outbreak, resulting in limited flight operation during 2020, as well as, significant steps taken on cost-cutting measures, including the voluntary reduction in employees’ salaries, rationalisation capacity, and a greater focus on cargo/ charter operations during the pandemic.
She said that the process of decrease in losses could have continued but could not due to an increase in fuel prices and fluctuation in the dollar exchange rate to the higher side, and an increase in KIBOR/ interest rate.
Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Javed Abbasi said that efforts are being made to enforce uniform education curricula across the country besides adopting Urdu as an official language gradually.
Responding to questions asked by the MPs, he said that after the 18th Amendment, education is a provincial subject; however, the federal government is making all-out efforts to implement a uniform syllabus in collaboration with provinces.
He said that the chairman and members of the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) were retired officials who are appointed by the president of Pakistan on the advice of the prime minister in terms of Section 3 of the FPSC Ordinance, 1977.
In terms of Section 3(4) of the FPSC Ordinance 1977, all such appointments are made from amongst retired civil servants of BS-21 and above, retired judges from the higher judiciary and retired officers of armed forces not below the rank of a major general, he added.
Salahuddin of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Saira Bano of Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) strongly objected over the appointment of the FPSC chairman and its members, saying some of the pensioned ‘baboos’ with a tainted past were handpicked to head the FPSC, which was is in no way justified.
Salahuddin said that the commission is being run without a chairman for last so many months, which shows how serious the government takes the institution.
Replying to a question, the minister said that there are around 70,000 out-of-school children in the capital and all-out effort will be made to enrol these children.
The minister for parliamentary affairs said that the appointment of the chairman FPSC is under consideration, which will be done soon.
Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Rana Tanveer Hussain expressed the government’s resolve to bring the number of out-of-school children in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) to zero by June this year.
He said that the government has also started the schools-on-wheels initiative in Islamabad to provide education to the children of the rural areas.
Under this initiative, he added, state-of-the-art buses equipped with necessary facilities including toilets are sent to rural areas.
The federal government, he added, on the direction of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is also planning to provide schools on wheels facility to children of flood-affected areas of Balochistan and Sindh.
He said that the government has also undertaken an accelerated learning programme with the cooperation of the United Kingdom to enhance the literacy rate in the country.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023