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Senate Standing Committee wants concerned authorities to connect Gawadar with Karachi and hence the rest of the city through a cutting-edge optical fibre.
On 28th June, Senate Standing Committee on Maritime Affairs, a committee that deals with ports and shipping, suggested laying optic fibre cable from Karachi to Gawadar, recommending that the project is started at its earliest so that the Gwadar Port Authority may start functioning properly.
A meeting surrounding the matter was held at the Parliament House on 28th June under the Chairmanship of Senator Nuzhat Sadiq. Several other renowned personalities were also present at the event including Senators Fida Muhammad, Muhammad Akram, Saleem Zia, Samina Saeed, Rana Mahmood ul Hassan, Sitaray Ayaz, Kauda Babar, Secretary Maritime Affairs and heads of all its attached departments and institutions working under the ministry.
The Ministry of Maritime Affairs has six attached departments each with autonomous statuses of their own including Karachi Port Trust (KPT), Port Qasim Authority (PQA), Gwadar Port Authority (GPA), Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC), Directorate General of Ports and Shipping (DG P&S), Korangi Fisheries Harbor Authority Karachi, Pakistan Marine Academy (PMA) and Marine Fisheries Department (MFD) Karachi.
During the meeting, the Committee gave detailed and comprehensive briefings on the performance of the Port Qasim Authority, Gwadar Port Authority, Karachi Port Trust, Pakistan National Shipping Corporation, Pakistan Marine Academy, Directorate General of Ports and Shipping, Korangi Fisheries Harbour Authority among others.
The Committee planned to visit and hold a series of meetings at the Headquarters of all departments and authorities under the ministry to be better able to assess their issues and problems and contribute to their resolution.
The matter of ferrying the Pakistani pilgrims all the way to the Iranian seaports also came under discussion. The committee recommended doing work on policy approvals regarding a dedicated ferry service (a merchant vessel used to carry passengers) between Pakistan and Iran that could assist pilgrims going to visit sacred places in Iran and Iraq.
