Over 367 students offered Hungaricum scholarships

Law minister emphasises fair allocation amid concerns over documentation

ISLAMABAD:

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar announced on Friday that, over the past three years, a total of 367 Pakistani students have been awarded scholarships under the Bilateral Exchange Scholarships Programme (Stipendium Hungaricum).

Addressing a question raised by Senator Shahadat Awan during the Senate session, Senator Tarar provided a provincial breakdown of the recipients, revealing that approximately 123 students benefited from the scholarships during this period.

In a supplementary inquiry, Senator Kamran Murtaza stressed the importance of ensuring that scholarships are allocated to students from Balochistan according to their domicile status.

He raised concerns about instances where students from more developed districts secured scholarships with inadequate documentation, thus depriving deserving candidates from less developed areas of this opportunity.

In his response, Tarar clarified that scholarships are awarded based on students' ID cards and domicile.

He assured the Senate that there would be enhanced verification of students' documents before the award of scholarships, reinforcing the commitment to fair allocation and support for students from all regions.

Meanwhile, the Senate was adjourned to meet again on October 28 (Monday) at 3 pm for lack of quorum.

As the session of the House resumed after a two-day break, question hour was underway when lack of quorum was pointed out.

PPP Senator Saleem Mandviwalla who was presiding over the sitting adjourned the House for reconvening after 30 minutes.

Later, as the House reconvened, the quorum was again pointed out, the count was made but the House was not in order, forcing the chair to adjourn the session till Monday.

Meanwhile, the presiding officer Saleem Mandviwalla while adjourning the House informed the members of the upper house that a distinguished delegation led by the speaker of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation Valentina Matviyenko will visit Pakistan from October 27 to 29.

During her visit, she will address the Senate on the invitation of Chairman Senate Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani on October 28 at 5 pm.

The presiding officer urged the members of the Senate to ensure their presence and active participation in furthering parliamentary diplomacy and strengthening the bond between Pakistan and Russia.