ISLAMABAD:

A meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Industries and Production was held on Thursday under the chairmanship of Syed Hafeezuddin, MNA, during which various matters were discussed in detail. The committee adopted the report of the sub-committee and also decided to revive the sub-committee for another month to ensure further progress on the assigned matters.

The issue concerning K-Electric was discussed extensively, particularly the charging of commercial tariffs from employees residing in the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) township. The committee expressed annoyance over the matter and recommended that the chief executive officer (CEO) of K-Electric personally appear before the committee at its next meeting to provide a comprehensive report. The CEO has also been asked to submit complete details of the total amount collected so far from PSM employees.

The committee approved six ongoing Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) projects for the fiscal year 2026-27 after the Ministry of Industries and Production successfully addressed outstanding concerns raised by members in the previous meeting held on February 16, 2026.

The committee further expressed serious concern that the sugar, cement and tobacco industries are collecting taxes from consumers, while there are apprehensions that the amounts collected are not being duly passed on to the government. To examine the issue in detail, the committee recommended that representatives of the sugar, cement and tobacco industries, along with officials of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), be called to the next meeting.

Members of the National Assembly, including Kiran Imran Dar, Dr Mahesh Kumar Malani, Abdul Hakeem Baloch, Naz Baloch, Dr Mahreen Razzaq Bhutto and Muhammad Iqbal Khan, attended the meeting. The additional secretary of the Ministry of Industries and Production was also present.