He informed the house that the domestic debt is constantly refinanced through new issuances in domestic debt market upon maturity. The domestic debt of around Rs11,075 billion will mature during the next three years based on outstanding as at end-December 2016, he said, adding that since this amount will be refinanced at different junctures over the next three years, the prevailing interest rates at the time of refinancing would be applicable.
The minister said that future interest payments at this point in time are difficult to calculate accurately. To another question, Minister for Law Zahid Hamid informed the house that a prize bond scheme launched by the government on March 10, 2017 has become popular among the public as this was the first time the prize bonds of Rs 40,000 denomination are being issued in the name of the buyers.
The move is aimed at documenting the economy and getting investment from the public, he said, adding that different investment schemes are already available for the public. The government is offering 3 per cent profit per annum payable biannually on these bonds with one prize of Rs 80,000,000 to first winner, three prizes of Rs 30,000,000 to winners of second category and 660 prizes of Rs 500,000 to winners in third category.
Earlier, members of opposition parties including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Pakistan People''s Party Parliamentarians protested against Parliamentary Secretary for Interior and Narcotics Control Muhammad Afzal Khan Dhandla for being ill-prepared to answer the questions related to his ministry.
The members even urged Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq to tender his resignation in protest like Chairman Senate Raza Rabbani to make the ministers answerable of their respective ministries in the house. At the outset of the session, not a single minister was present in the National Assembly and the speaker informed the members that all the ministers were attending the Senate session that was in progress simultaneously.
Later, Minister for Law Zahid Hamid came to the house and answered a few questions related to Ministry of Finance and Revenue. PPPP member Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani urged the Speaker to take a stern action over the absence of the ministers to restore prestige of the august house. PTI members Shireen Mazari and Dr Arif Alvi, and even a member of the government allied party JUI-F Naeema Kishwar, protested the absence of the ministers and urged the speaker to ensure their attendance in the house.
"This is insult of this house," Jakhrani said while pointing out towards empty seats of the treasury benches. In a written response to a question, Minister for Interior and Narcotics Control Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan informed the house that 52,144 foreigners have been arrested from January 2012 to December 2016 by provincial Special Branch of Police and Federal Investigation Agency.
The breakdown shows that 4,221 foreigners have been arrested from Punjab, 429 from Sindh, 37,386 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 4,131 from Balochistan, 767 from Azad Jammu and Kashmir, 26 from Gilgit-Baltistan and 477 from Islamabad. The Federal Investigation Agency arrested 4,707 foreigners during the said period. The house was also informed that 40,149 foreigners have been deported during the period and majority of them include Afghanis, Bangladeshis, Indians, Iranians, Nigerians, Nepalese, Philippines, Yemenis and Zambians.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017