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ISLAMABAD - Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Farooq H Naek on Thursday made a startling revelation before the National Assembly that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-led government had paid Rs 54.635 million to leading lawyers during the last one-and-a-half-year to defend it in the superior courts.
According to the documents provided by the law minister in response to a question raised by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Nisar Tanveer, who sought the names of advocates/representatives who represented the federal government before the Supreme Court and High Courts from April 15, 2011, to date along with the amount of fee paid to each of them, the amount had been paid out of head AO-3917 Law Charges.
Those who were paid included former law minister Dr Zaheeruddin Babar Awan, who was paid Rs 32.7 million for representing the federation in seven cases. He charged huge sums of money for representing the federation in the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) review case, the National Insurance Corporation Limited (NICL) case, and another case involving the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
Former PML-Q Senator Dr Kalid Ranjha was also paid Rs 3 million for defending the federation in the Rental Power Projects (RPPs) case, while Abdul Hafeez Pirzada charged Rs 1.5million in defending the federation in the Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan case. Former judge Muhammad Ramzan Chaudhry was paid Rs 4 million for two cases, while Akram Sheikh was paid Rs 1 million.
In a written reply to a question, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that about 21,407 foreign prisoners arrested under the Foreigners Act 1946, had been deported to India, Afghanistan and Iran during the last five years.
Meanwhile, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Petroleum and Natural Resources Dr Asim Hussain called for forming a special committee of the parliament that could formulate its recommendations about the future strategy to deal with the CNG stations, as the country was facing acute shortage of the natural gas.
Responding to supplementary questions during the Question Hour, the adviser said the country was producing four billion cubic feet (bcf) of natural gas half of its present needs. The country is facing acute shortage of oil and gas. We need 380,000 barrels of oil while we are producing only 64,000 barrels. We hope to take the production to around 100,000 barrels but would still fall short of our requirement, he said, adding that there was a need to review the cheaper use of gas resources. If sense does not prevail and the use of natural gas is continued for CNG-fuelled vehicles, I fear there would be no gas for domestic use and the poor would suffer, he said.
He also criticised the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), saying the regulator had failed in devising a policy to deal with the CNG sector. He said that the regulator should work under the preview of the ministry.
Responding to another question, Dr Asim said that comprehensive steps had been taken to manage gas load shedding for the coming winter season. As a short term measure, gap between demand and supply is bridged by curtailing gas supplies to various sectors on SNGPLs network, such as the fertiliser, power, general industry and CNG sectors. An awareness campaign is being launched through print and electronic media to sensitise consumers on conservation of natural gas, he added.
The SSGC has also installed standalone LPG Air Mix Plants in Noshki and Surab in Balochistan, and Kot Ghulam Mohammad in Sindh for providing gas to the respective areas during the coming winter season. The gas load shedding programme is yet to be finalised for the upcoming winter season, he said.
He added that the gas load management programme was being carried out after keeping in view the demand and supply position of gas and the socio-economic realities of the country.
Dr Asim said the government had signed 35 new exploration licenses to explore new reserves of natural gas in the country during the past four years. Currently 133 exploration licenses for exploration of oil and gas are operating. A total 100 exploratory wells were drilled during reported period for exploration of oil and gas. As a result of these efforts, 39 oil/gas discoveries have been made which are under evaluation for reserve estimation, he said.
Efforts are being made to put these discoveries on production during 2012-2013. During the reported period, gas production has been enhanced from 3,973 mmscfd to 4,200 mmscfd. The Council of Common Interest (CCI) has approved the Tight Gas (Exploration & Production) Policy, 2011, which offers 40-50 percent higher prices than the price announced in exploration and production, he added.
Govt pays a fortune for its defence in SC | Pakistan Today | Latest news | Breaking news | Pakistan News | World news | Business | Sport and Multimedia
According to the documents provided by the law minister in response to a question raised by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Nisar Tanveer, who sought the names of advocates/representatives who represented the federal government before the Supreme Court and High Courts from April 15, 2011, to date along with the amount of fee paid to each of them, the amount had been paid out of head AO-3917 Law Charges.
Those who were paid included former law minister Dr Zaheeruddin Babar Awan, who was paid Rs 32.7 million for representing the federation in seven cases. He charged huge sums of money for representing the federation in the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) review case, the National Insurance Corporation Limited (NICL) case, and another case involving the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
Former PML-Q Senator Dr Kalid Ranjha was also paid Rs 3 million for defending the federation in the Rental Power Projects (RPPs) case, while Abdul Hafeez Pirzada charged Rs 1.5million in defending the federation in the Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan case. Former judge Muhammad Ramzan Chaudhry was paid Rs 4 million for two cases, while Akram Sheikh was paid Rs 1 million.
In a written reply to a question, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that about 21,407 foreign prisoners arrested under the Foreigners Act 1946, had been deported to India, Afghanistan and Iran during the last five years.
Meanwhile, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Petroleum and Natural Resources Dr Asim Hussain called for forming a special committee of the parliament that could formulate its recommendations about the future strategy to deal with the CNG stations, as the country was facing acute shortage of the natural gas.
Responding to supplementary questions during the Question Hour, the adviser said the country was producing four billion cubic feet (bcf) of natural gas half of its present needs. The country is facing acute shortage of oil and gas. We need 380,000 barrels of oil while we are producing only 64,000 barrels. We hope to take the production to around 100,000 barrels but would still fall short of our requirement, he said, adding that there was a need to review the cheaper use of gas resources. If sense does not prevail and the use of natural gas is continued for CNG-fuelled vehicles, I fear there would be no gas for domestic use and the poor would suffer, he said.
He also criticised the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), saying the regulator had failed in devising a policy to deal with the CNG sector. He said that the regulator should work under the preview of the ministry.
Responding to another question, Dr Asim said that comprehensive steps had been taken to manage gas load shedding for the coming winter season. As a short term measure, gap between demand and supply is bridged by curtailing gas supplies to various sectors on SNGPLs network, such as the fertiliser, power, general industry and CNG sectors. An awareness campaign is being launched through print and electronic media to sensitise consumers on conservation of natural gas, he added.
The SSGC has also installed standalone LPG Air Mix Plants in Noshki and Surab in Balochistan, and Kot Ghulam Mohammad in Sindh for providing gas to the respective areas during the coming winter season. The gas load shedding programme is yet to be finalised for the upcoming winter season, he said.
He added that the gas load management programme was being carried out after keeping in view the demand and supply position of gas and the socio-economic realities of the country.
Dr Asim said the government had signed 35 new exploration licenses to explore new reserves of natural gas in the country during the past four years. Currently 133 exploration licenses for exploration of oil and gas are operating. A total 100 exploratory wells were drilled during reported period for exploration of oil and gas. As a result of these efforts, 39 oil/gas discoveries have been made which are under evaluation for reserve estimation, he said.
Efforts are being made to put these discoveries on production during 2012-2013. During the reported period, gas production has been enhanced from 3,973 mmscfd to 4,200 mmscfd. The Council of Common Interest (CCI) has approved the Tight Gas (Exploration & Production) Policy, 2011, which offers 40-50 percent higher prices than the price announced in exploration and production, he added.
Govt pays a fortune for its defence in SC | Pakistan Today | Latest news | Breaking news | Pakistan News | World news | Business | Sport and Multimedia
