Senate Functional Committee on Devolution meets under the Chairmanship of Senator Dr. Zarqa Suharwardhy

ISLAMABAD, Sep 19 (SABAH): The Senate functional committee on Devolution met at the parliament house under the chairmanship of Senator Dr. Zarqa Suharwardhy. The committee was given a detailed briefing by ministries of Kashmir affairs and Gilgit, Narcotics control and National heritage & culture. Respective ministries gave a detailed progress and output of last two financial years along with budget details, attached departments and number of employees.

At the outset of the committee meeting, the chairperson of the committee observed that all the ministries carry high importance and the committee would like to have a detailed overview of the overall working and performance to achieve national goals and chalk out a comprehensive plan with specific targets to improve institutional efficiency and enhanced service delivery.

Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan informed the committee about the role of the ministry in the affairs of AJ&K and GB. It was informed that all administrative matters of AJ&K and GB have either been done or coordinated by the ministry and the territories of AJ&K and GB are designated as special areas and they can’t be defined as provinces in terms of article 1(2) of the Constitution of Pakistan. The ministry informed that both the territories have their own constitutional and legislative frameworks with particular reference to the legislative functions. It was also informed that budget for the year 2022-23 was Rs. 678.635million and for the year 2023-24 Rs 832.426 million have been allocated. The committee was also briefed in detail about the J&K state properties. According to details, the ministry informed that 2091 units managed as per rules in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Jehlum, Sialkot and Gujranwala. Besides some agricultural properties also situated in Narowal District, Sheikhupura, Sultanpura and Rehmanpura.

Chairperson and other members of the committee observed that both the regions have a huge importance for the country and there is dire need to introduce more development projects for the welfare of those regions to provide relief to the people of those regions. It was observed that the executive as well as legislative interventions should be aimed at the welfare of the people and all the aspects should be kept in mind while taking any development initiatives or introducing any legislative mechanism in those regions.

During the meeting ministry of narcotics control also informed the committee about the budget allocated to the ministry and its attached departments during last 2 years. Chairperson of the committee observed that the rising trend of different new forms of drugs is on the rise among young generation and we need to have a comprehensive plan to prevent and to create awareness about the negative impacts of the narcotics. Members of the committee however emphasized for coordinated efforts to overcome the challenge while taking the community on board and sensitizing the youth about the negative impacts. They also emphasize the need for tangible plan at national, local and regional level to curtail its supply. The committee was informed that universities and colleges are being targeted for awareness and international coordinated operations are being conducted to cut the supply. It was informed that 7 model addiction treatment centres have been established and more are being planned in different cities of the country. Ministry of Narcotics control also informed the committee about the national drug use survey 2024 being conducted through the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics to analyse the trends and modalities of drug use in Pakistan.

The committee appreciated the role of the ministry of narcotics control; however, it called for capacity building of the institution and equipping the human resource with modern gadgets for effective monitoring. The committee also proposed enhancing the human resource strength of the of the anti-narcotics force to enable it to effectively combat the menace.

During the briefing of the Ministry of National Heritage and Culture, the chairperson of the committee observed that propagation and promotion of national heritage and culture is of utmost importance to enable the youth to know about the rich cultural history. She observed that some historic and important departments work under the ministry and they need a patronage to effectively preserve and promote our cultural heritage. The committee however deplored the fact that most of the departments working under the ministry are having shortage of human resource which is negatively effecting the performance and delivery of those departments. Hindi comedy called for checking out a mechanism to bridge this gap and recruit efficient and skilled human resource to better promote the cultural heritage. The committee also proposed to enhance the entry fee for foreigners from 1000 rupees to 5000 rupees at Lok Virsa as it will help generate huge funds for the institution of Lok virsa.

The committee, however, decided to have an exclusive meeting with the ministry of National heritage and culture on all aspects related  to the promotion and projection of national culture. It also decided to carry out visits to different facilities at provincial and federal level to see what recommendations the committee can make to further improve the performance of those historic institutions the meeting was attended by Senators Fozia Arshad and Poonjo Bheel. Senior officers of the Ministries, attached departments were also present during the meeting.