Islamabad, (Parliament Times) : The Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat, chaired by Senator Rana Mahmood-ul-Hassan, held a meeting at the Old PIPS Hall, Parliament Lodges, Islamabad. The session was attended by Senators Farooq Hamid Naek, FawziaArshad, Dr. Afnan Ullah Khan, and Shahadat Awan. As well as special invitees, Senators Bilal Khan Mandokhail and Sardar Al Haj Muhammad Umer Gorgaij. The Committee took up key legislative and oversight matters concerning regulatory frameworks, national development initiatives, and institutional performance.
The Committee commenced with consideration of The Cannabis Control and Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2025, introduced by Senator Dr. Afnan Ullah Khan. He explained that the bill seeks to allocate one per cent (1%) of the Authority’s annual fund to corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. These may include the establishment of rehabilitation centres for drug addicts, skill development and employment generation, poverty alleviation, and efforts to promote gender equality and empower women. It was also presented that the Authority shall ensure transparency and accountability in the use of CSR funds, per the rules and regulations to be formulated under the Act. After a thorough discussion, the committee decided to defer the bill. The committee directed the Cannabis Authority to submit its recommendations on the proposed amendments after placing them before its board.
The Committee then took up Starred Question No. 27, raised by Senator Shahadat Awan in the Senate session held on July 25, concerning the criteria adopted by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority for enforcing roll-out obligations in the absence of a formal regulation or framework regarding right-of-way. After deliberation, the Committee decided to defer the matter and invite the Ministry of Information Technology to the next meeting for a comprehensive briefing on the policy framework currently in place.
A briefing was also given by the Managing Director of the National Engineering Services Pakistan (NESPAK) on the organisation’s performance over the past three years. The Committee was apprised that NESPAK has successfully undertaken 4,822 projects both domestically and internationally. Of these, 595 projects were completed internationally in 40 countries, including Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros Islands, Dominica, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Nepal, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Yemen, Papua New Guinea,Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand,Türkiye, Turkmenistan, UAE, Uganda, and Uzbekistan. NESPAK has also entered into joint
ventures with renowned foreign and local firms on a project-to-project and long-term basis, which have proven beneficial to all stakeholders involved. The matter was deferred. TheCommittee directed a list of NESPAK’s ongoing projects for review in the next session.
The remaining agenda items were deferred due to the absence of members.