Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Lower House of parliament was informed on Monday that the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has started a probe into offshore companies; with the minister of state for parliamentary affairs telling lawmakers that companies registered in Pakistan had not made any direct investment abroad.

Sheikh Aftab Ahmed told the House during the question hour that there was a “give and take” understanding between some local firms and foreign registered companies, which was not forbidden under the Companies Ordinance, 1984.

He also informed the lawmakers that the limit of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s discretionary funds was Rs 1 million, to be used in case of illness, death or marriage of the PM Secretariat’s staff members or their dependent family members.

He said that an amount of Rs 566,4000 was spent on marriages and Rs 270,000 on deaths during the year 2013-14.

Sheikh Aftab also informed the parliamentarians that a reduction in poverty was expected in 2025. He said that with the beginning of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects, some 400,000 people would get employment, adding that thousands of people were currently working on the project.

He said that Rs 100 billion had been earmarked for the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). The PM’s Development Programme was bringing down poverty in the country, and the people were also benefiting from Pakistan Baitul Mal, he said.

To a query, Sheikh Aftab said there were some complaints regarding the Children’s Hospital in Multan, and the matter was discussed in a meeting with the professors of Nishtar Medical College. He said that the professors had assured the government of bringing improvements to the healthcare facilitates being provided there.

He said the government was planning to initially take the rate of economic growth to beyond seven percent. He said the government was also planning to ensure social protection to all marginalised and vulnerable segments of society.

He said that allocations for the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) had been increased. He said the Prime Minister Health Insurance Scheme was also extending health coverage to the people.

To another query, Sheikh Aftab said that Pakistan Vision 2025 was launched after consulting all stakeholders. He said that all the provinces were “individually consulted on all pillars of the vision”, under which equal importance was given to all parts of the country.

To a question, Parliamentary Secretary for Finance Rana Muhammad Afzal Khan told the House that the government had not written off any loan. He said the government had borrowed less from commercial banks during the last fiscal year.

He said that record tax collection of more than Rs 3 trillion was made during the last fiscal year, which was 21 percent more than preceding year. He said efforts were being made to further increase the tax net.

The parliamentary secretary for finance informed the House that more than a million people had submitted their tax returns in 2015-16. He predicted that the performance of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) would be better than last year. He also told the lawmakers that the government was not bringing any scheme for converting black money into white money.