MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON DEFENCE

Senate of Pakistan

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON DEFENCE

December 28, 2015

1. A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Defence was held on
4th December, 2015 at 10.30 am in Committee Room No. 1, Parliament House, Islamabad under the Chairmanship of Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed.

2. The agenda before the Committee was as under:-

Update on security situation on boarders with India and Afghanistan;
Public Petition No. PP-917 of Mr. Abid Raza Bangash and others pertaining to APS Peshawar;
Public Petition No. PP-985 of Mr. Muhammad Tariq pertaining to discrimination with civilians officers regarding hiring facility by Ministry of Defence;
Calling Attention Notice of Senator Muhammad Usman Khan Kakar.
Disposal of Pending Business under Rule 207 (3) referred by the House.
Any other item with permission of the Chair.

3. The following members of the Committee attended the meeting:-

Senator Atta Ur Rehman
Senator Ilyas Ahmed Bilour
Senator Lt. Gen. (R) Abdul Qayyum
Senator Muhammad Javed Abbasi
Senator Farhatullah Babar
Senator Lt. Gen. (R) Salahuddin Tirmizi
Senator Brig. (R) John Kenneth Williams

4. The meeting commenced by recitation from the Holy Quran by Addl. Secretary, Ministry of Defence. The Chairman then welcomed all the participants and highlighted the contributions made by Flt. Lt. Maryam Mukhtiar Shaheed and offered Fateha for the departed soul. A resolution was then moved recommending the Federal Government for a Gallantry Award to Flt. Lt. Maryam Mukhtiar Shaheed. The resolution was unanimously adopted by the Defcom and forwarded to the Ministry of Defence for necessary action.

5. Agenda item No. i was taken next which pertained to an update on security situation on borders with India and Afghanistan. A detailed briefing was given by the Addl. Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Rear Admiral Mukhtar Khan. The Secretary Defence informed that since October, 2014, the incidences of ceasefire violation by India had reduced whereas the situation on the Western border had deteriorated. The main reason was the withdrawal of ISAF forces due to which the agreement between Pakistan, ISAF and Afghan armed forces had become infructuous. A new agreement has been prepared and sent to the Afghan government which is pending there assent. The Afghan government does not seem to have an effective control on the militants operating in districts bordering Pakistan. The situation has deteriorated after vacation of the districts of Kunar and Nangarhar by the coalition forces. The Afghan army is too weak & ineffective to protect its border areas which were being used by the terrorists. No progress has so far been made in getting hold of Moulana Fazlullah.

6. Senator Lt. Gen. (R) Abdul Qayyum pointed out a violation of international law by India whereby a fence along the Pakistan border had been constructed to which the Secretary Defence agreed and reiterated that this violation of international law has been protested through the Foreign Office. The field formations of both countries hold regular flag meetings and hotline between Director Generals, Military Operations becomes active every Tuesdays.

7. Senator Farhatullah Babar raised the issue of civilian causalities along the Line of Control (LOC) and the compensation package being provided to them by the government. This package was not commensurate to the one for those killed in terrorist attacks. He further highlighted that the Defcom while visiting the LOC was apprised about issue of construction of community trenches / bunkers for the population living in forward areas. The Ministry of Defence needs to take immediate steps in this respect.

8. Senator Lt. Gen. (R) Salahuddin Tirmizi raised the issue of Kargil debackle and proposed to form a Commission to probe into the matter and bring facts to light. Senator Lt. Gen. (R) Abdul Qayyum proposed that Army may conduct its own inquiry, in the first instance, then on the basis of their report a Commission could be constituted later. The Chairman agreed to the proposals and reiterated that there should be accountability through investigations and facts must be brought to light & placed before the nation.

9. Agenda Item No. ii Public Petition No. PP-917

The Sr. Joint Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Mr. Muhammad Younas Khan made a presentation in this respect and stated that all the demands made in the said Petition have either been redressed or are being addressed to. The salient features of the compensation packages are as follows:-

Compensation Packages approved / completed

Federal Government (MoD) - Rs. 183.2 Million

Pakistan Army - Action completed

Provincial Government - Rs. 411.6 Million

Assistance Package approved by the Prime Minister / MoD

Name and Designation of Shaheed Employee	NOK	Lump Sump Grant	Education Grant for 10 Years	Grant in lieu of constructed House	Total
Tahira Qazi Principal	Lt. Col. (R) Qazi Zafrullah Khan (Husband)	3 (M)	Nil	5 (M)	8 (M)
Shehnaz Naeem	Dr. Naeem Mumtaz (Husband)	3 (M)	0.6 (M) ( 01 child)	5 (M)	8.6 (M)
Muhammad Saeed	Ayesha Bano (Wife)	3 (M)	0.6 (M) (01 child)	5 (M)	8.6 (M)
Nawab Ali	Mrs. Shahnaz (Wife)	3 (M)	1.8 (03 Children)	5 (M)	9.8 (M)
Sahar Afshan	Mrs. Shamim Akhtar (Mother)	3 (M)	Nil	5 (M)	8 (M)
Hafsa Khush	Khush Muhammad (Father)	3 (M)	Nil	5 (M)	8 (M)
Sofia Hijab	Amjad Sohail (Husband)	3 (M)	Nil	5 (M)	8 (M)
Farhat Bibi	Syed Abid Ali Shah (Husband)	3 (M)	0.6 (M) (01Child	5 (M)	8.6 (M)
Sadia Gul Khattak	Gul Shahzad Khan (Father)	3 (M)	Nil	5 (M)	8 (M)
Hajra Sharif	Muhammad Sharif (Father)	3 (M)	Nil	5 (M)	8 (M)
Benish Umar	Umar Zeb Butt (Husband)	3 (M)	0.6 (M) (01 child)	5 (M)	8.6 (M)
Saima Zarin	Brig. Tariq Saeed (Husband)	3 (M)	0.6 (M) (01 child)	5 (M)	8.6 (M)
Pervez Akhtar	Sajida Bibi (Wife)	3 (M)	Nil	5 (M)	8 (M)
Mudassir Khan	Muhammad Khan (Father)	3 (M)	Nil	5 (M)	8 (M)
Muhammad Shafique	Saeed Bibi (Wife)	3 (M)	1.2 (M) (02 children)	5 (M)	9.2 (M)
Muhammad Bilal	Wahida (Wife)	3 (M)	Nil	5 (M)	8 (M)
Zahir Shah	Momina Bibi (Wife)	3 (M)	Nil	5 (M)	8 (M)
Muhammad Hussain	Saira Bibi (Wife)	3 (M)	Nil	5 (M)	8 (M)
Sajjad Ali	Tallat Sajjad (Wife)	3 (M)	1.2 (M) (02 children)	5 (M)	9.2 (M)
Muhammad Sami	Shehla (Wife)	3 (M)	Nil	5 (M)	8 (M)
Akbar Zaman	Bibi Rabia (Wife)	3 (M)	Nil	5 (M)	8 (M)
Ehsan Ullah	Saba Gul (Wife)	3 (M)	Nil	5 (M)	8 (M)
Total		66.00	07.2	110.00	183.2

Compensation / Assistance Package provided by the Army

Umra Package
Total	-	147
Performed	-	142 (along with 471 x family members)
Remaining persons	-	02
Unwilling	-	03
Free Education to 1 x brother / sister of shaheed student
Total	-	122
Entertained	-	89
Under process	-	04
Offer declined	-	29
Free Education in APS: Shaheed Teacher / Staff
Total families	-	22
Opted for Free Edu.	-	08 (12 children)
Un Md	-	04
Offer Declined	-	10
Job for NOK / Relative – Shaheed Teacher / Staff
Total No. of employees (Excluding Principal)	-	21
Entertained	-	10
Under Process	-	01
Offer Declined	-	10
Admission in Cadet Colleges – Injured Students
Opted for Cadet / Military Colleges	-	77
Opted for NUST / Army Medical College	-	10
Offer Declined	-	05
Visit to Friendly Countries (Students / Teachers etc.)
China	-	45
Oman	-	43
Turkey	-	41
USA	-	15
Tajikistan	-	25
KSA	-	19

Compensation / Assistance Package provided by the Provincial Govt. – KPK

	Amount paid to all civilian shuhada (Rs. 0.2 Million each)		Rs. 286 (M)
	Award of Sitar-e-Imtiaz (02 Teachers @ 0.8 Million each)		Rs. 1.6 (M)
	Award of Sitar-e-Shujat (142 Civilian Shuhada @ Rs 0.6 Million each)		Rs. 85.2 (M)
	Compensation to all 73 Civilian major injured (@ Rs. 0.4 Million each)		Rs. 29.2 (M)
	Compensation to all 48 Civilian minor injured (@ Rs. 0.2 Million each)		Rs. 9.6 (M)
	Total		Rs. 411.6 (M)
Renaming of Government Schools against Shaheed Students
Renamed -		101
Under Process -		21 (10 x Punjab, 1 x Baluchistan, 3 x FATA & 7 x KPK)

Action taken on other Demands

Demand	Responsibility	Status	Remarks
Higher Gallantry Award	Federal	Sitara-e-Imtiaz awarded to 2 staff members Sitara-e-Shujaat awarded to 142 Shuhada	Not recommended
Employment for family member of martyred staff	Army	Completed (10 employed: 1 under process, 10 unwilling	-
Declare 16 Dec. as National Holiday	Federal	Pending	16 Dec may be declared as “National Shuhada Day” Mol may issue SoPs for observance
Universities in memory of the martyrs and representation of families in BoG	Federal and Provincial	Pending
Earmark special quota for families of martyrs with scholarships	Federal and Provincial	Army has already earmarked seats in cadet colleges and professional colleges
Grant of “Terrorism Affected Family” certificate	Federal	Mol

10. In furtherance of the above, Public Petition No. PP – 917 has also been forwarded to the Prime Minister’s Office with the request to explore possibilities to provide any assistance to the families of Shaheed students in consultation with concerned Ministries / Divisions and Provincial Government.

11. The Chairman appreciated the efforts of the Ministry of Defence. Senator Moulana Ata-ur-Rehman raised the question pertaining to fixing of responsibility for the security lapse leading to this tragic incidence. The Secretary Defence informed that the inquiry report of a Joint Inquiry Committee has been finalized and is pending with the office of the Chief Minister, KPK. The Chairman desired that the said report may be presented before the Committee. Public Petition No. 917 was disposed off accordingly.

Agenda item No. iii. Public Petition No. PP-985

12. The Ministry of Defence briefed that:-

Status of the Case:

Hiring facility is allowed to Federal Govt. employees at six stations: Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Quetta, Karachi and Peshawar.
The facility is not allowed to civil employees of low formations of Army.
Case repeatedly taken up with Finance Division (Military Finance Wing) but regretted with certain queries.
The reason for rejection is involvement of huge amount i.e. Rs. 541.780 (M).
In 2011, the case was closed due to financial crunch in the country.
Fresh case was initiated on 14th October, 2013.
The case could not be finalized due to:
Non-availability of funds
Demand for GHQ for additional funds
Release of Defence budget 2015-16 without allocation in the relevant head.
Recent advice rendered by Finance Division
- “The proposal has been considered at appropriate level and in this context, there appears to be two aspects of this proposal.
- Authorization of the employees in question for hiring facility.
- If the existing rules and regulations of Govt. policy cater for authorization aspect, the second point needs to be addressed subsequently. If the issue only pertains to availability of funds, the same may be taken up with Budget Wing of MoD and Military Finance”.

Actions being taken:

Advice of Finance Division (Military Finance Wing) has been received on 30.11.2015.
CP Directorate GHQ is being consulted.
After consultation, the case will be taken up with Finance Division (Military Finance Wing) for authorization and allocation of funds as per their advice.

13. The Chairman ruled that the Defcom recommends to the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Finance for inclusion of these demands in the budget requirement for the forthcoming financial year. The Ministry of Defence to follow up and apprise the Defcom about the progress in the matter. Public Petition No. PP-985 was disposed off accordingly.

14. Agenda item No. iv: Calling Attention Notice of Senator Muhammad Usman Khan Kakar was deferred at the request of the Mover who could not attend the meeting due to his pre-occupations at Quetta.

15. Senator Moulana Ata-ur-Rehman moved another application pertaining to the same issue which was forwarded to the Ministry of Defence with the directions to submit a detailed report in the matter in the next meeting of the Defence Committee.

16. In the Senate, 2012. All issues were found to have become infructuous and therefore the Committee decided to drop them from the list of pending business, kept by the Senate Secretariat. The Senate Secretariat be informed. The agenda item was disposed off accordingly.

17. The meeting ended with mutual vote of thanks.

18. The meeting ended with mutual vote of thanks.