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Consumers denied fuel on reduced rates: PTI minister assures Senate panel of raising issue with PM

By Our Correspondent
October 09, 2021
Consumers denied fuel on reduced rates: PTI minister assures Senate panel of raising issue with PM

ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan on Friday assured the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat that he would take up the issue of petrol pumps refusing to sell petrol when prices are reduced and selling even stored one when the rates are increased.

The meeting of the Senate Standing Committee was held at the Parliament House under the chairmanship of Chairman Committee Senator Rana Maqbool Ahmed. In the meeting, the chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) gave a briefing on the working procedures and performance of the organisation and reviewed the details of current status of Directory Retirement Rules (DPR).

Chairman Senate Standing Committee, Senator Rana Maqbool Ahmed of PMLN, expressed concern over the rising prices of petroleum products and said that when the prices of petroleum products are increased, petrol pump owners also sell stored petrol at new rates and when the prices are reduced, owners shut down petrol pumps or create a petrol crisis.

On the issue, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan assured the committee’s chairman that he would take up the matter with Prime Minister Imran Khan. At the beginning of the meeting, prayers were offered for the martyrs and injured of the recent earthquake in the Balochistan province. Chairman Committee Senator Rana Maqbool Ahmed expressed deep sorrow and grief over the demise of comedy king Umer Sharif.

Chairman PTA Major General (retd) Amir Azeem Bajwa said the PTA was established under an Act in 1996, adding five mobile operators of PTA were licensed. The SCO is only in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, he added.

The chairman PTA said all the mobile operators in Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan are allowed to run 4G. There are 185.6 million mobile subscribers in the country, adding 3G and 4G services are available in 80 percent of the country and 50 percent of mobile users have smartphones.

JI Senator Mushtaq Ahmed raised the question that details about the PTA shares be provided. To this, the chairman PTA said that 26 percent shares are with Etisalat and Etisalat has to pay 800 million dollars to the PTCL due to some disputed properties. The committee chairman gave instructions to the chairman PTA, saying service facilities should be provided at the places identified by the committee members as soon as possible.

The PTA chairman said that mobile internet service was open in South Waziristan but it was shut down again due to security reasons. Chairman Committee Senator Rana Maqbool Ahmed sought details of action plan for the recovery of properties and dues in the next committee meeting.

The Senate Standing Committee reviewed the current status of Directory Retirement Rules (DPR) in detail in the meeting. The committee chairman questioned whether the Directory Retirement Rules included the civil servants and police officers or other cadre officers.

The secretary Establishment said that not only the civil servants and police officers but all the service cadre officers are included. He said that some officers have approached the court, due to which cases are pending in the courts.

The deputation in the civil services was deliberated in detail in the meeting of the Senate Standing Committee. Chairman Rana Maqbool Ahmed formed a sub-committee for further details on the Directory Retirement Rules.