ISLAMABAD  -    Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen M. Mazari on Monday said that government was not silent over the case of Pakistani prisoner Shakirullah, who was brutally beaten and stoned to death in an Indian jail.

Responding to remarks by PPP Parliamentary Leader in the Senate Senator Sherry Rehman, the minister said it was an international issue and her ministry was finding the most appropriate convention to register a case under international crime.

She further said that the body parts of Shakirullah were missing after the post-mortem.

Senator Rehman, while discussing her anguish over the manner prisoner Shakirullah was killed and maltreated, expressed her concerns about the fate of other Pakistani prisoners in the Indian jails.

She called upon the government to take up the issue strongly and steps be taken for safety and wellbeing of other Pakistanis imprisoned in the Indian jails. In a related development, PPP senior leader Senator Mian Raza Rabbani has sought “reassessment and re-evaluation” of Pakistan’s foreign policy.

In a press release issued by him on Monday, the former Senate Chairman called on the Leader of the House in the Senate to move a motion for convening a meeting of a committee of the Whole House to discuss various foreign policy options of the country. He added that this should be done in consultation with the relevant stakeholders and recommendations should be formulated.

Rabbani said the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs should also formulate its own recommendations after a “thorough debate”.

He added that recommendations of the committee and the NA standing committee should be presented before a joint sitting of parliament for their inputs before a comprehensive document of recommendations is adopted by the joint sitting”.

Earlier, speaking in the Senate, Minister for Postal Services Murad Saeed said that Pakistan Post had managed to increase its revenue by 212 per cent in the last four months due to effective steps taken by the government.

The minister said branches of Pakistan Post had been increased to 27,000 across the country and electronic money order, export parcel services, urgent mail service, and E-commerce service had been introduced to attract more customers.

He said Pakistan Post had been facing a loss of Rs92 billion and the government was taking steps to make it profitable department after controlling losses by August this year.

Two bills were passed in the Senate yesterday.

These include “The Day Care Centers Bill, 2018” and The Islamabad Capital Territory Prohibition of Interest on Private Loans Bill, 2017.

Three bills were also introduced in the House, which include “The Islamabad Compulsory Vaccination and Protection of Health Workers Bill, 2019”, “The Post Office Bill, 2019” and “The Pakistan Courier and Logistics Regulatory Authority Bill, 2019”.

The chair referred the bills to the concerned standing committees.

Minister of State for Revenue Hammad Azhar expressed the confidence that fiscal deficit this year will remain below 6.6 percent.

Responding to a motion in the Senate, he said economy was passing through a stabilisation phase and will be on path of sustainable development in next one year.

The minister of state said the government had taken various steps to improve economy which resulted in reduction of trade deficit by 25 per cent and current account deficit by 47 per cent in the month of January.

He said the recovery in electricity bills was improved by 2.5 per cent.

He said 18000 FIRs had been registered and about 1500 arrests were made in electricity theft cases.

He further said that an increase of 34 per cent in tax filing has also been witnessed this year which is the highest number in last 20 years.

He said, “We are taking steps to increase tax base and avoiding indirect taxes.”

Hammad said food inflation will likely be receded in coming days.

He said financial assistance from friendly countries also helped Pakistan to overcome economic crisis. The House will now meet again today at 3pm.