F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi says Pakistan has actively been taking up with India the issue of release of its prisoners languishing in their jails.
Responding to the calling attention notice of Attaullah and others in the National Assembly, he said it is a humanitarian issue.
The Foreign Minister regretted that India wants to escalate the matters with Pakistan.
He said India tried to escalate the situation following Pulwama incident, despite the fact that Pakistan had no connection with it and this has been recognized by the world as well.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Pakistan’s strategy has remained to defuse the tension with India through goodwill gesture such as the release of Indian pilot as well as their 360 fishermen.
Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs Andleeb Abbas told the House that 585 Pakistani prisoners including 210 fishermen are languishing in Indian Jails.
She said India will release four Pakistani fishermen on Tuesday next.
The House has now started discussion on “The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2019” aimed at increasing the number of tribal districts’ seats in the National Assembly and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.
Initiating the debate, Mohsin Dawar said appropriate representation should be given to the tribal districts both in the National Assembly and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.
Khawaja Asif said the people of tribal districts have suffered immensely as a result of war on terrorism. He said the Federal and Provincial governments should allocate maximum resources for rehabilitation of tribal districts.
Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak said tribal districts have now become part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, expressing the confidence that these districts will now see prosperity and development. He said one hundred billion rupees will be spent every year on the development of tribal districts.
Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri said the constitution amendment has been finalized after consultation with all political parties in the parliament and this is a major gift from the parliament to the tribal people.
Minister of State for SAFRON Shehryar Khan Afridi said that under this Constitution Amendment, seats of tribal districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly have been enhanced to twenty four and in the National Assembly to twelve.
Members belonging to tribal districts hailed both the treasury and opposition benches for standing up in support of the tribal people and recognizing their rights.
They expressed the confidence that other problems faced by the tribal people will also be addressed on priority basis.
The house has now been adjourned to meet again on Monday at twelve noon.
