Islamabad: The National Assembly was informed today that the government is actively pursuing a proactive strategy to establish more agreements with European Union countries for the export of skilled manpower. Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resources Development, Chaudhary Salik Hussain, revealed that approximately 1.3 million individuals have secured employment abroad over the past three years, emphasizing the government’s focus on youth skill development.
According to Radio Pakistan, Parliamentary Secretary Dr. Darshan announced a proposal for a sewerage treatment plant in the Federal Capital aimed at treating wastewater before it flows into Rawal Lake. Unplanned development along the banks of the Korang River has been contributing to pollution in the Rawal Dam. To combat this, wetlands have been constructed to reduce contamination. Before water is supplied to Rawalpindi, it undergoes treatment at a water filtration plant managed by the Small Dam Organization under the Irrigation Department.
Today’s session also saw the passing of ‘The Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (Implementation) Bill, 2024’. Additionally, several new bills, including ‘The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2025’, ‘The Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Bill, 2025’, and ‘The Digital Nation Pakistan Bill, 2024’, were introduced and subsequently referred to the relevant Standing Committees. The Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (Amendment) Ordinance, 2024, was also laid before the National Assembly.
Meanwhile, Parliamentary Secretary for National Health Service, Nelson Azeem, reported a decline in polio cases, attributing this success to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s focused efforts to eradicate the virus completely. He highlighted the numerous awareness campaigns and anti-polio drives launched last year, noting that no new polio cases have been reported this year.
In response to another calling attention notice, Parliamentary Secretary for Energy Division, Aamir Talal Khan, stated that seventy percent of K-Electric’s 2,100 feeders are free from loadshedding. He explained that 282 out of 295 mixed feeders, serving both domestic and commercial consumers, are loadshedding-free, with only challenging areas experiencing issues due to high line losses and theft. Loadshedding across all power distribution companies is based on line losses and recovery rates.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was present at today’s proceedings, and the House is scheduled to reconvene tomorrow at 2 p.m.