Seven PIA planes grounded for repair: NA told

Attention of house diverted to widespread sale of ice and other narcotics

ISLAMABAD:

The lower house of the parliament was told on Monday that seven aircraft of the national flag carrier have been grounded for repair while one airplane has been retired for good.

Sharing details with the National Assembly on the request of a lawmaker, the Aviation Division said a total of three Boeing 777, two Airbuses and three ATR aircraft have been grounded.

The written reply said all but one of these aircraft—one of the Boeing 777—are repairable.

Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali and Asiya Azim called attention to a widespread sale of ice and other narcotics in the country.

Taking the floor, Chitrali claimed that the police act as informants for the drug dealers.  He even alleged that many policemen are also drug addicts.

Responding to the call-attention notice, Federal Minister for Anti-Narcotics Control Shazain Bugti said the government is trying to stop drug trafficking.

“We have requested the cabinet to allow us to make recruitments [in the relevant department] but the cabinet has not given us permission so far.”

The minister said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has, however, given the permission to build a fusion center for curbing narcotics trade and the growing use of drugs in the country. These centres will be soon inaugurated.

“We are also working on new legislation [for narcotics control]. This piece of legislation will be introduced soon,” Shazain Bugti added.

Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur and Qadir Mandokhail called attention to water shortage in Badin district of Sindh province.

Minister of State for Law Shahadat Awan said it was a provincial matter, adding that Sindh is getting 40% less water.  “The Sindh government has paved the river channels. The water situation will improve once water is available in the system,” he said.

Talking with reference to an interprovincial accord for apportionment of waters of the Indus River System among the provinces of the country, Talpur said 33 years have elapsed since signing of the agreement and now there is a need to revisit it.

Widely hailed as a historic agreement, the agreement signed on March 21, 1991 helped in ending a dispute that had been festering for the past seventy years.

He said Indus River System Authority (IRSA) member Punjab had given “an encouraging speech” in this regard. “A meeting of the [relevant] standing committee should be called as soon as possible.”

The state minister said all disputes among provinces are resolved by the Council of Common Interest (CCI). “All the provinces have got less water due to shortage of water,” he added.