Senate body resents malpractices in disbursement of Bait Ul Mal fund
By Asim Hussain

ISLAMABAD—Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Communication and Railways, Senator Kamil Ali Agha has expressed concern over the malpractices in the disbursement of the Bait-ul-Mal fund through Pakistan Post Office and has directed the department to take action against the individuals involved in the malpractice / corruption so as to ensure that the poor and needy is not deprived of his right.
He gave these directions in a meeting which was requisitioned by four Members of the Committee to discuss not only the performance of Pakistan Post Office department but also consider the issue of deployment of Motorway Police on the Gwadar-Karachi coastal highway to arrest the increasing trend of accidents on the road. Senator Kamil Ali Agha pointed out that some bogus forms were being sold at Post Offices offering small loans to the people. The Chairman of the Committee directed the DG Post Office to take appropriate action against the individuals involved in selling those fake forms as it is earning a bad name to the government.
The Committee recommended that the disbursement system of the Bait-ul-Mal funds through post office be revamped. It directed the Communications Secretary to coordinate with the Bait-ul-Mal authorities for bringing improvement in the system of disbursement of these funds. The Members of the Committee were of the view that futuristic policies are the need of hour to make post office a hub of commercial and social activities. Earlier, Director General Pakistan Post Office Department, Mr. Muhammad Arshad Khan gave a detailed overview of the working and performance of the department and the steps taken to introduce market oriented policies in the department.
He said that postal market situation has drastically changed worldwide. He assured the Committee that efforts are being made to introduce service oriented culture to make Post Office a business hub. He said that introduction of new technologies in the Department and training of the staff would enable us to compete in the market. He disclosed that more than 12 thousand Post Offices are being run with a workforce of about 27 thousand only. Federal Minister for Communications, Mr. Muhammad Shamim Siddiqui agreed with the Members of the Committee that customer confidence needs to be restored and the infrastructure of the post offices needs to be improved.
The Committee, while considering the deployment of Motorway Police at Gawadar - Karachi Costal Highway, was informed by IG Motorway Police, Mr. Ahmed Naseem that the highway was handed over to Motorway Police recently. He said that a viable plan has been chalked out to educate the locals of the area about the traffic rules which would help reduce accidents on the road. The Committee appreciated the plan of action prepared by Motorway Police and recommended that the Quetta - Karachi road should also be handed over to Motorway Police so as to control the accident on that road. The Committee was also given a detailed briefing about the present status of construction of Lak Pass Tunnel. Senior member NHA, Mr. Altaf Ahmed Ch. disclosed that the work on the site is being carried out on expeditious basis and that 17% work has so far been completed.
The Members of the Committee were of the view that completion of the project would have a direct bearing on the economy of the country and directed the concerned authorities to make no compromise on the quality and standard of work. It is pertinent to mention here that the Committee has already assigned the task of monitoring of the project to Senator Liaqat Ali Bungalzai so as to ensure proper appraisal of the on ground situation.
The meeting was attended, besides the Chairman of the Committee Senator Kamil Ali Agha and by the MOS for Petroleum, Mir Mohammad Naseer Mengal, by Senators Naeem Hussain Chatha, Nawab Muhammad Ayaz Khan Jogezai, Muhammad Saleh Shah, Dr. Muhammad Ismail Buledi and Liaqat Ali Bungalzai. Federal Minister for Communications, Muhammad Shamim Siddiqui, Secretary Communications, Mr. Tariq Mehmood, IG Motorway Police, Mr. Ahmed Naseem.