The Ministry of Interior on Thursday submitted in the National Assembly (NA) details of incidents of terrorism that took place in the country in 2023 and 2024, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
In its written reply, the ministry said that in all 2,922 people were either martyred or injured in 1,514 terror attacks that took place during 2023.
As many as 572 security forces personnel were among those killed in these attacks while 1,292 personnel were injured during the period under review, the ministry told.
Similarly, the ministry informed, 358 civilians also lost their lives in these incidents while 700 received injuries.
The lawmakers were told that a total 561 incidents of terrorism were reported in the first four months of the ongoing year, 2024, between January and April, in which 886 persons were either injured or killed. “The statistics include 167 security personnel who were martyred in these attacks, while 348 who were wounded,” the ministry said, adding, “While 118 civilians died and 253 were injured in these incidents during the first four months of 2024.”
Ban on new connections to ensure gas provision, NA told
Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik has said there is a ban on new gas connections in order to ensure provision of gas to the existing consumers.
Responding to a Calling Attention Notice in the National Assembly today, he pointed out the gas reserves are depleting rapidly. The piped gas is annually depleting by fourteen to fifteen percent. He emphasized blending the domestic gas and the imported LNG to ensure uninterrupted gas supply to the people.
The Petroleum Minister said that a project has been launched at a cost of four point five billion rupees to improve gas supply to the areas of Kemari, Lyari and Malir in Karachi. He acknowledged that the middle and lower class should be prioritized in terms of gas provision.
In his remarks, Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb told the House that no new legislation is being proposed to extend tax and duty exemptions for erstwhile FATA and PATA regions. He said these exemptions were continuing for six years and now are coming to an end on the 30th June this year.
The Minister said that the business community in their interactions on the budget is insisting on a level playing field for all the industries.
Various documents were also laid before the House today. These included the Report of the 1st biannual Monitoring on the Implementation of 7th NFC Award, the Mid-Year Budget Review Report for the Financial Year 2023-24, the Fiscal Policy Statement 2024, the Debt Policy Statement January 2024, the Performance Monitoring Report for the current fiscal year and Audit reports of the Auditor General of Pakistan relating to the Accounts of the Federation for the years 2021-22 and 2022-23.
Reporter: Rozeena Ali