The Senate Standing Committee on Religious Affairs and Inter-Faith Harmony on Friday directed National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to probe financial and administrative matters of Pakistan Madrassa Education Board (PMEB).

The meeting of the committee was held here in the Parliament House under the chair of Senator Maulana Hafiz Hamdullah.

The committee chairman said the PMEB has failed to provide the committee an inquiry report on corruption in the board despite repeated directions.

The board has not held even a single meeting during the last eleven years while performance of the board is also zero despite getting millions of rupees funds from the government, Hamdullah said. Chairman PMEB informed the committee members that the board is taking care of only three schools located in Islamabad, Karachi and Sukkur.

As many as 342 female students are enrolled in the Islamabad school while services of the principal of the school have been returned to her parent department for negligence and irregularities, the board chairman said.

Hafiz Hamdullah, however, asked the chairman PMEB as to why he failed to get funds of the board audited and present a detailed inquiry report to the committee.

The committee members also discussed a bill pertaining to Umrah pilgrimage and giving it under the Ministry of Religious Affairs. The chairman of the committee directed the ministry officials to discuss the matter and present proposals in the next committee meeting.

Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yusuf informed the committee members that a legislation draft has been prepared for establishment of an officially and legally authorised Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, but its implementation would be limited to only Islamabad as the matter has been devolved to provinces under the 18th constitutional amendment.

He, however, promised to table the legislation in the Parliament after getting approval from the cabinet. The committee was informed that heirs of 62 Hajis (pilgrims) who died in 2016 on the eve of the pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia have been compensated while the compensation for another 24 is still under process.

Discussing 'The Ehtram-e-Ramazan (Amendment) Bill, 2017,' the committee chairman directed the ministry officials to give proposals on the bill in the next meeting.

The minister said that his ministry has written two separate letters to Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority to make sure that sanctity of the holy month is guaranteed in television programmes. He, however, lamented that the relevant law is violated during special Ramazan transmissions of private television channels.

-Business Recorder