The National Assembly was informed today that eighty percent fields in the Pakistan Army are open for the recruitment of females.

Responding to a question during the Question Hour in the House today,  Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Zeb Jaffar further said over five thousand ladies are serving in the Pakistan Army and around seven hundred have been commissioned during the last three years.  She, however, said fields entailing extreme physical endurance and prolonged exposure to hostile environment are closed for women.

The Parliamentary Secretary said the career progression for females in the Pakistan Army is governed by a dedicated career management policy, which comprehensively encompasses inclusive as well as exclusive programs for the development and training of females throughout their service in the Army.

Responding to another question, Zeb Jaffar said Pakistan International Airlines has earned an operating profit of nine point three billion rupees and net profit of twenty-six billion rupees last year as a result of restructuring of the national flag carrier by the government.  She further said PIA is expanding operations to the Middle East and new destinations including Kuala Lumpur, Baku and Istanbul.

Earlier, Parliamentary Reporters staged a walk-out from the National Assembly’s press gallery against the harassment of senior journalist Ijaz Ahmad by the PTI founder.

Responding to the media’s walkout, Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar said decency and tolerance are the hallmarks of politics. He said it is unfortunate that indecent language was used by the former Prime Minister against senior journalist Ijaz Ahmad. He added that the senior journalist was performing his professional duties to cover the court’s proceedings being held at the Adyala Jail in a case pertaining to the PTI founder. He said it is unfortunate that trolling of the journalist has been unleashed on social media.

The Minister emphasized that politicians need to face criticism and respond in a dignified manner.