Nothing will be done without the approval of the Parliament regarding any law: Musadik Malik

ISLAMABAD, Sep 10 (SABAH): The Senate was informed on Tuesday that the government is planning to provide agricultural loans to the small farmers of dairy and livestock sectors through banks.

Responding to a question during the Question Hour in the House on Tuesday, Minister of Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb said that IT and agriculture sectors are the real levers of the economy and the government is providing agriculture loans to the big and small farmers to enhance their agricultural production.

The Minister further said the State Bank of Pakistan took a number of initiatives during the last five years to increase access of agriculture credit to farmers across the country.

He said the State Bank of Pakistan plays a leading role in provision of financing needs to the agriculture sector due to its significance for economic growth, employment and food security.

The Minister said as a result of these initiatives, agriculture credit disbursement increased by 82.4 percent from 1,215 billion rupees in 2020 to 2,216 billion rupees by the end of June this year.

Responding to another question, Commerce Minister Jam Kamal said textiles and apparel exports slightly increased by 0.93 percent during the last financial year.

Minister for Water Resources senator Dr. Musadik Masood Malik has assured the Senate that nothing will be done without the approval of the Parliament regarding any law.

He was responding to a Calling Attention Notice, moved by Sherry Rehman and others, regarding proposed changes in the IRSA Act, 1992.

The Minister said the document, he received, has been unanimously signed by all the IRSA members. He further said the document is aimed at enhancing water efficiency, but it is the prerogative of the Parliament to reject or approve it.

The Minister for Water Resources said around 8.62 million acre feet water is required to flow downstream Kotri to prevent sea erosion. He said the water flow in the first six months of this year was around 18.8 million acre feet.    

Senate Chairman Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani suspended Senator Falak Naz for using inappropriate language against Senator Muhammad Faisal Vawda for two days. The House will now meet on Thursday at 3:00 PM.