Pakistan to use Saudi oil facility on deferred payment from March: Senate informed

Islamabad: The Senate was informed on Friday that Pakistan will start using the Saudi oil facility on deferred payment from next month.   

Minister for Finance Shaukat Tarin told the house during question hour that the government has tried not to pass on to the people the full burden of international increase in petroleum products. 

“We have reduced the sales tax and Petroleum Development Levy on petroleum products to provide relief to the masses,” he said.                 

The Finance Minister further added that the foreign exchange reserves of State Bank of Pakistan have increased over the last one year which will help reduce pressure on the rupee.  

“Pakistan received three billion dollars from Saudi Arabia in the month of December 2021 for a period of one year at 4% interest rate,” he said, adding that country’s exports and remittances are increasing whilst the trade deficit reduced by 1.5 billion dollars last month.

Responding to a supplementary question, the Finance Minister said Pakistan has met twenty seven out of twenty eight conditions of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). 

He said we have fulfilled our targets and hoped the country will come out of the grey list in the next review meeting of the FATF.

Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz told the house that Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) governments have started important projects for provision of clean drinking water. 

He said Capital Development Authority and Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources have collectively started a project for recharging groundwater level.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan said several projects worth billions of rupees have been launched for the development of Balochistan and Gwadar.

Taking the floor, Leader of the House in the Senate Shahzad Waseem regretted the silence of international human rights over the rising religious hatred and extremism in India.  Alluding to the harassment of a Muslim girl wearing hijab in Karnataka, he said the worst form of Islamophobia is being seen in India which poses threat to peace and stability.

Leader of House Shahzad Waseem said that Pakistan wants cordial relations with all the countries including the United States. He said we are maintaining channels of communications with the US. He categorically stated that Pakistan is not part of any camp.

Sherry Rehman of PPP strongly condemned the banning of Hijab in India, urging the international organizations to take notice of it.

Mushtaq Ahmad of Jamaat-e-Islami commended the Indian Muslim women for standing up against the Hindutva policy.

The house has now been adjourned to meet again on Monday at 3 pm.