NA Body condemns the incidents of violence against the state & military installations on 9th May

ISLAMABAD, May 18 (SABAH): The National Assembly Standing Committee on Maritime Affairs has condemned the incidents of violence against the state and military installations on 9th May.

The 14th meeting of the Standing Committee on Maritime Affairs commenced with the recitation from Holy Quran at 10.30 am in Committee Room No. 7, Fourth Floor, Parliament House, Islamabad, under the chairmanship of Mir Amer Ali Khan Magsi.

In the meeting, the Committee was apprised by the Ministry officials upon the current situation of job quotas within the departments pertinent to Maritime Affairs, the issues of Karachi Port Trust related to land acquisition and the analysis and feasibility of Hajj through the sea. The Committee demanded explanation upon the dredging issue at Gwadar port, and recommended that airports and roads should be named after those who played a major role in the acquisition of Gwadar from Oman.

The Ministry briefed the Committee upon the quota for Balochistan in all pertinent departments, and attributed the vacancies against seats reserved for the quota of Balochistan to low outreach of the advertisements. The Ministry also informed the Committee about the overwhelming response for the advertisement for vacancies against seats for Balochistan. The Committee advised that in order to improve the response rate, the vacancies must be advertised in local newspapers and media like in addition to the social media, national newspapers and organizational websites. The Ministry also defined the quotas for various provinces in the pertinent organizations. The Committee showed its concern upon the low quota for Balochistan and Sindh, and a high quota for Punjab.

The Committee recommended that the quotas of Sindh and Balochistan must be increased as Maritime Affairs is more relevant to littoral areas.The Ministry on-boarded the Committee upon multiple land litigation cases of Karachi Port Trust, and put a way forward for the resolution of the issue of encroachment upon the land belonging to Karachi Port Trust. The Ministry outlaid the initial plan for the “Hajj through Sea” initiative in front of the Committee to deliberate upon the feasibility of the project. The Committee opined that the project was not feasible, considering the financial cost, the time for transportation and cases from other countries. The Committee also directed the Ministry to check upon the feasibility of introduction of a ferry service from Karachi to Chabahar.

The Committee sought explanation from the Ministry upon the issue of dredging in the Gwadar Port. The Ministry updated the Committee that work was already in progress to resolve the issue. The Committee recommended naming various airports and infrastructural facilities after the personalities who played a key role in the acquisition of Gwadar, as these personalities are the national heroes of Pakistan. The Committee condemned the incidents of violence against the state and military installations on 9th May.

Azhar Qayyum Nahra, Ms. Seema Mohiuddin Jameeli, Kamal Uddin, Mohammad Aslam Bhootani, Rana Muhammad Qasim Noon and Mir Khan Muhammad Jamali, MNAs attended the meeting. In addition to the Members, the attendees of the Committee meeting included representatives from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Port Qasim Trust, Karachi Port Trust and Pakistan National Shipping Corporation.