ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui presented details in National Assembly regarding out-of-school children across the country.
The minister and informed the lower house of parliament more than 25.37 million children between age of five and 16 are currently out of school in Pakistan.
In a written reply to a question by Natasha Daultana, Dr Khalid Maqbool presented official provincial figures on out-of-school children. He told National Assembly Punjab has the largest number of out-of-school children, with approximately 9.60 million children deprived of basic education.
According to official figures, Sindh ranks second, with around 7.082 million children not attending school. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ranks third, with nearly 4.092 million out-of-school children. Balochistan ranks fourth, with 2.94 million children out of school, while around 90,000 children in Islamabad are not attending school.
National Assembly was further informed Pakistan spent only 0.8pc of its gross domestic product (GDP) on education during period from July 2024 to March 2025.
In a written reply to a question by Samina Khalid Ghurki, Finance Ministry informed National Assembly customs field formations had not detected any case of under-invoicing, based on direct evidence, in the import of solar panels during past five years.
In another written reply, Finance Ministry stated, government allowed commercial import of used vehicles up to five years old until June 30, 2026. After that date, commercial import of used vehicles will be permitted without any age restriction.
However, no commercial import of used vehicles under SRO 1895(I)/2025 has taken place so far. In practice, therefore, companies have not yet imported used cars into Pakistan.
Replying to a supplementary question, Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani said government is encouraging and promoting solar power.
He told the House installation of solar power systems remains attractive for consumers under new pro-summer regulations.
The minister said despite limited resources, government has tried to provide relief to the public. He said a Rs129 billion fuel subsidy package was provided to shield consumers from rising global oil prices triggered by Middle East conflict.
He further said Rs716 billion had been allocated for Benazir Income Support Programme during current fiscal year to provide financial assistance to more than ten million families.
