Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has said that Sukkur-Hyderabad-Karachi motorway is absolutely critical for the economic lifeline of Pakistan.

Taking the floor during National Assembly’s session in Islamabad on Thursday, he said this project has been prioritized, assuring that this will be completed at all costs whether through foreign financing or allocations in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).

Responding to a calling attention notice, Minister of State for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Chaudhry Armaghan Subhani said that the government is giving top priority to the construction of Sukkur, Hyderabad and Karachi motorway project.

He said the project will be part of the next PSDP and work on it will be started this year.

The National Assembly was also informed that the prices of electricity for eighteen million consumers, using less than two hundred units, have been reduced by fifty-six percent since June of last year.

Minister for Power, Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, told the House during Question Hour that there has been an overall twenty percent reduction in electricity prices for the domestic consumers and farmers and a thirty-one percent reduction for industries.

The Minister for Power was confident that Pakistan will become a competitive energy supplier in the region within the next year or year and a half.

He said seven thousand megawatts of surplus electricity is available in the country for the next three years.  He said negotiations are underway with development partners in order to provide more relief to the industries in the electricity prices.

In his remarks, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhary said Pakistan's international image has significantly improved due to its strong and effective response to Indian aggression.

He emphasized that efforts would be made in unison to improve the global ranking of Pakistani passport. He also mentioned that overseas Pakistanis are sending record remittances to the country, and every effort is being made to fully facilitate them.

Parliamentary Secretary for Human Rights, Saba Sadiq, told the House that the appointment of Chairperson of National Commission on the Status of Women will soon be made. 

She said the commission is fully cognizant of its responsibility towards promotion and protection of women rights. She said efforts are underway to safeguard women rights with special focus on vulnerable groups with the coordination of relevant stakeholders at the federal, provincial and regional level.

The House will now meet tomorrow at eleven am.