ISLAMABAD: Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani on Tuesday emphasized the supremacy of Parliament and stated that the assets of bureaucrats working in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) must be disclosed, leaving no room for any hidden information.
During the question hour, he firmly asserted that nothing can escape the scrutiny of Parliament.
In response to the question of Senator Saifullah Sarwar Khan Nayazee, State Minister for Law and Justice, Shahadat Awan, stated that the current law prohibits the disclosure of assets of FBR officials. He emphasized that Parliament possesses the authority to remove the relevant clauses from the law.
Shahadat revealed that to obtain a policy decision, FBR sought guidance from the Ministry of Law and Justice on sharing declarations of assets and liabilities of FBR officers. However, the Ministry of Law and Justice prohibited FBR from disclosing individuals’ declarations furnished to them to any third party.
Senator Rana Maqbool emphasized the need to amend relevant laws, ensuring transparent declaration of FBR assets, as nothing should remain hidden from the parliament.
In response to Bahramand Khan Tangi’s question, Shahadat Awan stated that three clothing and shoes outlets were sealed for the past five years due to their involvement in generating fake invoices and concealing tax collected from customs. Specifically, two outlets were sealed during the fiscal year 2022-23, and one outlet was sealed in 2021-22. A total of one million rupees was successfully recovered from these outlets.
Meanwhile, the Senate was informed on Tuesday that USAID, UNICEF, and JICA separately funded a total of 113 projects in 2022, amounting to $0.588 billion, covering diverse initiatives, including both on-budget and off-budget aspects.
In response to Dr. Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur’s question, the Minister for Finance and Revenue, Muhammad Ishaq Dar, informed the Senate during the question hour that United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been supporting a total of 12 on-budget projects and 53 off-budget projects. Since 2022, the disbursements for on-budget projects amounted to US$ 0.07 billion, while off-budget projects received US$ 0.12 billion in funding.
During the years 2022 and 2023, UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) has initiated 40 projects with a total value of US$ 0.398 billion. These projects encompass various thematic areas, including Health, Nutrition, Learning & Skills, Child Protection, WASH & Climate Change, Social Policy, and Social Protection. UNICEF is executing these projects in collaboration with INGOs (International Non-Governmental Organizations) and NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations).
Since January 2022, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has provided a total of US$ 0.129 billion in funding for eight projects. The disbursements are categorized into loan and grant portfolios.
