ISLAMABAD: Minister for Water Resources Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah has called for declaring agriculture, water, infrastructure and rains emergency to cope with the challenges posed by the devastating floods in the country.
Speaking on a point of order in the National Assembly on Friday, he said eighty percent of crops in Sindh have been destroyed. He said trees worth billions of rupees are facing the threat of decay if flood water does not recede. He said we have to divert funds toward flood management. The Minister said Pakistan is facing the brunt of a fault, which is not committed by it. He said the country is facing a loss of trillions of rupees due to climate change and the world must compensate Pakistan as its contribution to greenhouse gases is negligible.
Four bills were also introduced in the House today (Friday). These included: “The Pakistan Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2022”, “The Trade Dispute Resolution Bill, 2022”, “The Naturalization (Amendment) Bill, 2022” and “The Securities and Futures Market Bill, 2022”. The chair referred the bills to the standing committee concerned.
The House also passed “The Anti-Dumping Duties (Amendment) Bill, 2022” and “[The Railways (Amendment) Bill, 2022”. Minister for Power Khurram Dastagir said that fuel adjustment price for the current month has been reduced to less than a rupee per unit.
Speaking on the floor, he said as per instructions of the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif we have fully passed on the relief. He said total relief of 65 billion rupees has been provided to farmers, industrialists and flood affected people from the power sector. At the outset, newly elected Member of the National Assembly Asia Azeem took oath. Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf administered the oath. Later, the House was adjourned to meet again on Monday at 05:00 p.m.