Govt to provide 50pc subsidy for housing units
Zong introduces unlimited calls under CPEC
Minister for Housing and Works Tariq Bashir Cheema Wednesday told the National Assembly that the government was planning to provide 50 percent subsidy on building of affordable housing for low income employees with substantial grants from Italy and Japan amounting to billions of rupees.
Responding to a question of member National Assembly Shazia Marri, he said efforts were being made to bring down the interest rates on housing loans and mortgage to preferably in between seven and nine percent. In this regard, discussions with Federal Board of Revenue, State Bank of Pakistan and World Bank were underway, he added.
He said in order to enable an individual to pay back the loan and mortgage installment to the bank, it was being proposed that the size of monthly installment should be equal to the monthly rent being paid by an individual. He said the Naya Pakistan Housing Authority would undertake efforts to build five million houses. The minister said a previous government in 1995 banned construction of new housing units for the government employees in Islamabad. At present, 29,000 federal government employees were using the government residences and same number of employees were still in the waiting list.
During the question hour, the Speaker asked the officers of ministries to ensure their presence in the house and said their attendance would be made part of the service record. National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser on Wednesday announced to prorogue 18th Session of the National Assembly summoned on January 1, 2020.
The session concluded after having 11 sittings and passed important legislative proposals including three legislative proposals on services chiefs' appointment and extension.
The other important bills passed by the House including the Mutual Legal Assistance (Criminal Matters) Bill, 2019; the Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Bill 2019; the ICT Rights of Persons with Disability Bill, 2018; the Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates Bill, 2019; the Legal Aid and Justice Authority Bill, 2019; the Enforcement of Women's Property Rights Bill, 2019 and the Superior Courts (Court Dress and Mode of Address) Order (Repeal) Bill, 2019; the Federal Government Employees Housing Authority Bill, 2020 and the Banks (Nationalization) (Amendment) Bill, 2019 and the University of Islamabad Bill, 2019.
Likewise, the bills introduced in the House are: the Pakistan Academy of Letters (Amendment) Bill, 2019; the SBP Banking Services Corporation (SBP BSC) (Amendment) Bill, 2020; the Protection of Communal Properties of Minorities (Amendment) Bill, 2020; the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils (Amendment) Bill, 2020; the Right to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2020; the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2020 (Article 31); the Minorities Educational Seats Bill, 2020; the Institute of Art and Culture (Amendment) Bill, 2020; the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2020 (Article 251); the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020] (Section 510); the Women in Distress and Detention Fund (Amendment) Bill.
All these introduced bills were referred to the relevant committees for further consideration.
ISLAMABAD: Telecom company Zong 4G has introduced unlimited calls to China under its China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiatives, a press release issued by the company said.
The company said it has launched two call bundles in order to make international direct dialling to China more convenient.
The bundles introduced by China Mobile Pakistan (CMPak, popularly known as Zong) include a weekly offer for prepaid customers worth Rs250 (plus tax) and a monthly package for both postpaid and prepaid customers worth Rs750 plus tax.
"The China bundles have been developed to suit both prepaid and post-paid customers and will provide ease to both private and business customers by enabling calls to China at the lowest rates in the industry," the statement read.
"As the connectivity partner for CPEC, Zong 4G has undertaken many initiatives and the launch of this bundle is in-line with our strategy of connecting both private and corporate customers," the statement added.
CPEC, touted as a framework for regional connectivity, is part of Beijing's Belt and Road initiative.
Under the $50 billion plus mega investment, China and Pakistan have begun work on a number of projects that include road, rail and air linkages connecting China and Pakistan. But most importantly, it links China's Xinjiang region with the port of Gwadar, giving the world's secondlargest economy direct access to the Arabian Sea.