Daily Times

The lawmakers on Friday expressed solidarity with Chinese government and people on the tribulation and affliction of novel coronavirus which has inflicted China and some parts of the world.

Speaking on a point of public importance in Senate, Leader of the House Syed Shibli Faraz said no case of coronavirus has been confirmed so far in the country. He said that a comprehensive strategy has been worked out to cope with coronavirus and the government and all the stakeholders are monitoring the screening system at airports.

Shibli Faraz said all possible steps are being ensured to deal with coronavirus and the government is ready to tackle any emergency situation in this regard. He said an emergency operation cell, established at the Ministry of National Heath, Services and Regulations, has been observing the situation.

Shibli Faraz said the separate wards have been set up at hospitals to deal with cases of coronavirus, if any. He said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Pakistan Embassy in China are actively monitoring the situation of coronavirus outbreak and also informing the parents of the students on continuous basis.

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Azam Khan Swati assured full support from the people, government and Senate to the Chinese ambassador in Pakistan to check deadly coronavirus.

The senators who spoke on the issue included Javed Abbasi, Mustaq Ahmed, Sitara Ayaz, Mushahid Ullah Khan, Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, Behramand Tangi, Dilawar Khan, Mushahid Hussain Syed and Nauman Wazir.

They suggested the government to formulate a committee of the parliament to review the efforts against this deadly virus. The legislators said that a strong massage should be conveyed from the Senate that all senators were ready to cooperate with the Chinese government on the issue.

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce, Textile, Industry and Production Abdul Razak Dawood apprised the Senate that the country’s exports witnessed 2% increase during July 2019 to January 2020. Responding to various supplementary questions during the question hour, the adviser said that the textile sector exports witnessed 25% increase, poultry 50% and fishery 28% during the last period. However, he said the quantity-wise exports registered upward trend but not value-wise due to prevailing recession at the international level.

He said special focus is also being given to boost export of IT, chemical and engineering products. Gas and electricity tariffs are also fixed for export-oriented sectors, he added.

To another question, he said the commerce ministry is in the process of finalizing the Strategic Trade Policy Framework 2020-25 with an aim to address capacity constraints of competitiveness and factor productivity related issues that were hampering growth of small-scale entrepreneurs.

To a separate question, Razak Dawood said as many as 43 commercial counselors were selected and 35 have already joined their duties. Proper training was given to them before posting them abroad, he said.

Minister Incharge for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan informed the Senate that losses of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) have decreased to Rs 11 billion from Rs 32 billion during 2019 as compared to year 2018 owing to good governance and better management.

Responding to various supplementary questions during the question hour, the minister said the government took various pragmatic steps to overcome the deficit and put it on right track. He said more flights were being operated on commercially viable routes to enhance revenue. He said PIA was passing through dire financial state but the present government is very keen to make it self-reliant. Efforts are underway to improve the financial health of the corporation by reducing its losses/ deficit through various means and modes, he added.

He said the major reason behind PIA’ s losses is the increased financial cost due inherited legacy loans of previous governments and rising mark ups and debt servicing. Moreover, significant increase in fuel prices and devaluation of currency etc. had also contributed towards losses, he added.