PM Shehbaz Sharif advises President to summon joint session

ISLAMABAD: Parliamentary sources have revealed that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has advised President Asif Ali Zardari to summon a joint session of the Parliament. The PM has recommended that the joint session be convened on December 17 at 11:00 AM.

This development comes in the light of the ongoing debacle about the bill for registration of religious seminaries and sources have indicated that eight bills are likely to be approved in the joint session. This also includes the one pertaining to seminaries. The government has reportedly consulted with the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) regarding the new bill on the registration of religious seminaries.

Massive irregularities found in power distribution

A detailed document presented to the National Assembly has revealed irregularities amounting to over Rs9 trilion in power distribution companies over the past three years.

The document states that in the fiscal year 2023-24 alone, financial irregularities and anomalies worth Rs5,145 billion rupees were observed in the energy sector. Similarly, in 2022-23 and 2021-22, irregularities of Rs1,575 billion and Rs2,785 billion rupees were reported, respectively.

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The Auditor General has placed 111 audit objections related to distribution companies before the assembly for the fiscal year 2023-24. These objections recommend action against 72 officers and employees.

The document further details irregularities of Rs110 billion rupees in LESCO, Rs164 billion in PESCO, Rs221 billion in SEPCO, Rs1,164 billion in QESCO, Rs2,734 billion in CPPAL, Rs40 billion in FESCO, Rs66 billion in GEPCO, Rs83 billion in HESCO, Rs32 billion in IESCO, Rs13 billion in MEPCO, and Rs16 billion in TESCO. Additionally, irregularities of Rs68 billion in Genco-I, Rs74 billion in Genco-II, and Rs114 billion in NPPMCL have been reported.