ISLAMABAD: The upper house of the parliament was informed on Wednesday that the government has paid $29 billion loans during the last three years and a total of $55 billion will be paid during the government’s overall tenure of five years.
Leader of the House Dr Shahzad Waseem said this while responding to a point of order raised by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Raza Rabbani. Waseem said that $12.2 billion loans will be paid this year while $12.5 billion would be paid next year.
He said the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) government paid $27 billion during its five year tenure. He said Pakistan was pushed into a quagmire of loans by ill-financial management of past governments and now the people are bearing its burden. Despite all hardship, the government is making all-out efforts to pass minimum burden on the masses, he added.
Regarding the money bill, Dr Shahzad said all bills come to the houses after approval of the federal cabinet. Both Senate and National Assembly are in session and no ordinance can be promulgated as per law, he added.
He urged the opposition lawmakers to avoid speculations and points should be raised on solid evidence. The government is not going for the first time for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme; rather in the past so many times such programmes were available.
During a question-hour session, Adviser to the PM on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood informed the house that a Pak-Uzbekistan Business forum was held in July this year at Tashkent for bilateral trade promotion. He said more than 2,000 business meetings have taken place during the forum that helped in signing approximately $50 million agreements and deals, besides 14 other memoranda of understanding.
Dawood said that besides the business forum, the two sides also signed the agreement between Uzbekistan and Pakistan on Transit Trade (AUPTT) on July 15 this year. About the salient features of AUPTT, he said that transit trade between Uzbekistan and Pakistan would take place along predetermined routes and only utilizing specified ports and border crossings.
The adviser said Uzbekistan and Pakistan are obligated to ensure that suitable infrastructure and personnel are available at border crossings and would provide separate spaces for off-dock terminals and warehousing, at entry/exit points and other customs notified places, on reciprocal basis.
While each country remained responsible for licensing transport operators like trucking firms registered in their territory, Uzbekistan and Pakistan would issue Road Transport Permits on the basis of which, transport operators would be able to transport goods through the other country’s territory.
Uzbek trucks may carry goods via Pakistan to sea ports rather than having to re-load them onto Pakistani trucks at the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and vice versa, he added.
He said the Uzbek government would recognise Pakistani drivers’ licences and vehicle registration documents, and vice versa while the Uzbek and Pakistani governments would expedite and simplify the process for awarding multiple-entry visas to truck drivers from one another’s countries.
With the exception of selected perishable items, goods transiting through Uzbekistan and Pakistan would be stored in sealed containers meeting international specifications, the adviser added.
He said the Uzbekistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Coordination Committee (UPTTCC), which would be established under the AUPTT, would be responsible for monitoring and facilitating the implementation of the agreement.
Dawood said moreover, as per article 40 (1) of AUPTT, each contracting party would notify the other party in writing regarding completion of its internal legal procedures necessary for the entry into force of the Agreement.
