RECORDER REPORT

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Interior Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan on Friday informed National Assembly that a special security division consisting of nine composite infantry battalions of six CAF wings has been raised at a cost of Rs21.57 billion for ensuring effective security to projects under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The parliamentary secretary for interior Maryam Aurangzeb stated that Rs10 billion has been provided for capacity building of civil armed forces to effectively confront the menace of terrorism.

Speaking during the Question Hour, she said as many as 28 wings of civil armed forces have been raised as per the National Action Plan at a cost of about Rs30 billion, adding the raising of rapid response force for Islamabad Capital Territory is also under way at a cost of Rs 2.7 billion.

She pointed out that the civil armed forces are fighting side by side at forward positions under the Zarb-e-Azb. Sindh Rangers have played a commendable role in restoring the writ of state in Karachi, she added.

She said the provinces are also striving to enhance capacity of police for maintaining law and order and combating terrorism. All the provinces have now counter-terrorism departments to pro-actively fight terrorism, she added.

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Shaikh Aftab Ahmad said the government is giving special incentives to foreign investment. As a result of these steps, Pakistan has become one of the most attractive destinations for investment.

Parliamentary Secretary for Finance Rana Muhammad Afzal Khan said that China has given loans to Pakistan on concessional rates and it extended the loan for fiber optic at a two percent interest rate.

Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal said that 95 percent work on ongoing development projects under Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) had been completed.

He said the government reviews progress of the projects after every quarter and allocates funding accordingly, adding the federal government identified development programmes and projects in consultation with provincial governments.

After the 18th amendment, responsibility for poverty alleviation falls on the provincial governments, he said, adding that despite this, the federal government is also financing vertical programmes of health and population welfare through PSDP as per a decision of Council of Common Interests (CCI), he added.