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ISLAMABAD, Dec 18 (APP):Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar said on Wednesday that under the Rules of Business, Parliamentary Secretaries are authorized to respond to questions during the National Assembly’s Question Hour in the absence of the concerned minister.
The clarification came in response to a point of order raised by senior PPP leader Syed Naveed Qamar, who asserted that as per the rules, it is the responsibility of the concerned minister to address questions during Question Hour.
He said that if ministers are present, they should personally respond instead of delegating the task to Parliamentary Secretaries.
Addressing the concern, Azam Nazeer Tarar explained that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) operates as an independent regulatory body under the Cabinet Division and is not directly linked to the Ministry of IT. Despite this, the Minister for IT had voluntarily chosen to respond to the queries.
Supporting Azam Nazeer Tarar’s explanation, Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said that as a matter of principle, regulatory authorities fall under the jurisdiction of the Cabinet Division.