Taking part in debate, Raja Khurram Shahzad Nawaz of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) raised the issues of the local residents of Islamabad, including claims for lands acquired by the civic body in sixties and seventies.
He urged the government to provide better educational facilities to the population of the suburban areas of the Federal Capital.
Raja Khurram pointed out that in 2017, some 200 buses were provided to the Capital’s educational institutions, which could not be utilized properly due to lack of drivers and were not in shabby condition showing apathy of the authorities concerned.
He expressed satisfaction over infrastructure of school buildings in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), stressing the need for provision more teachers.
Raja Khurram called for addressing the issue of water shortage being faced by the Capital’s residents. He also proposed to establish hospitals in the remote areas of ICT to provide health facilities at the doorsteps of countrymen.
He opined that the gove
rnment should promote real estate business particularly at federal level as it would help create business activities and job opportunities.
Amjad Ali Khan of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) suggested that the parliamentarians should help evolve pro-people policies to provide ease and comfort to the coming generations.
He said the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) were generating expensive electricity, which was an undue burden on the national exchequer. He also urged the government to privatize loss-making organizations in the country.
SIC’s Muhammad Iqbal Khan strongly condemned the murder of journalist Khalil Jibran by unknown assailants, and stressed the need for taking steps to restore law and order in the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and provide security to the tribal elders.
Zulfiqar Ali Bhatti of the PML-N urged the parliamentarians to respect one another’s opinions instead of mudslinging as “it portrays a negative impression of politicians in the public”.
He asked the gov
ernment to repair the roads of his constituency, which was contributing to the national exchequer with huge taxes.
He also questioned the performance of National Highways Authority (NHA) and Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (FESCO).
Sajid Khan of the SIC urged the government to open all economic corridors with Afghanistan as it would help bring financial stability in the region. He asked the government to review the visa policy with Afghanistan as well.
He further proposed to exempt the erstwhile FATA areas from taxes levied by both the federal and provincial governments. The merged districts of tribal areas should also be provided their due share of three percent in the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, he added.