Islamabad -  During the last three years the federal government has spent 11 billion rupees on ads.

The National Assembly (NA) was informed on Friday that during the last three years 7,443,240,178 rupees were spent on print media, while 3,483,711,261 rupees were spent on electronic media.

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb said that the present government was focusing on reviving the Pakistani film industry to reduce foreign content.

She said there was no official ban on the state-censored and regulated public exhibition of Indian feature films in the cinema houses under the Motion Pictures Ordinance, 1979.

Aurangzeb said that the Central Board of Film Censors had the power to cut the contents, which were against social norms and national interest.

Minister In-charge of the Establishment Division said that retired officers of civil services, armed forces, retired judges of high courts and the Supreme Court of Pakistan had been appointed on 12 posts as head of the organisation.

Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique told the House that the government had taken several steps to upgrade railway tracks including Karachi-Peshawar track under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

He, however, admitted that out of total 13,959 major and minor bridges over Pakistan Railways system, about 86 per cent were more than 100 years old. Rafique said that the up-gradation and doubling of the Main Line (ML-I) of Pakistan Railways from Karachi to Peshawar including Taxila-Havelian section and establishment of dry port near Havelian had been declared as Early Harvest Project under the CPEC.

He said that the project also included doubling of track from Shandara to Peshawar Cantt and increasing of speed where possible.

Rafique said that the up-gradation of the project was being initiated shortly and expected to be completed in a period of five years.

He said that Pakistan Railways revenue through freight services would be increased to over 14 billion rupees this year, that was only about two billion rupees in 2012.

Atif Khan