The National Assembly was informed today that the government has devised a project to effectively address the issue of counterfeit medicines in the country.

Minister for National Health Services, Mustafa Kamal told the House during Question Hour that the project, which is to be formally launched by the Prime Minister by the end of November, will enable consumers to verify the authenticity of medicines by scanning their 2D barcodes, using mobile phones at pharmacies.

He said the system would allow consumers to check whether a medicine is genuine, as well as it will verify its approved price and expiry date.

Mustafa Kamal said the system would also enable the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) to take appropriate action against those involved in their manufacture and distribution.

The Minister for National Health Services informed the House that the government is working towards making Pakistan self-reliant in indigenous vaccine production.

Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi told the House that Pakistan Railways is on the path of digitization.

He said Pakistan Railways has modernized its reservation system by introducing online and electronic ticket booking through the Railways Automated Booking and Travel Assistance (RABTA) mobile application.

He said passengers can check schedules, verify seat availability, and purchase tickets electronically without physically visiting reservation offices.

Parliamentary Secretary for Water Resources, Ms. Rana Ansar told the House that the government is sponsoring the construction of eighteen dams including Diamer Bhasha to augment national water storage capacity. 

She highlighted that Diamer Bhasha Dam alone will store 6.4 million acre-feet of water which will significantly enhance irrigation supplies to the existing 45 million acres of land currently irrigated by the Indus Basin Irrigation System. She said that fourteen more reservoirs are under planning and design stage.

Parliamentary Secretary for National Food Security, Shaista Khan informed the House that the government has taken a range of regulatory, certification, inspection and enforcement measures to ensure the availability of quality seeds across the country.

She said research is underway at the relevant department to develop climate-resilient wheat and cotton seed varieties.

The Parliamentary Secretary said the winding up of PASSCO is part of the Government's broader agriculture sector reform and deregulation process.

She said the wheat sector, traditionally based on extensive Government intervention in procurement, pricing, storage and stock management, is being gradually transitioned towards a market-oriented and private-sector-led system to improve efficiency, promote competition and encourage private investment in procurement, storage, logistics and marketing.

Responding to a Calling Attention Notice, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Division, Osama Sarwar said four new aircraft would be inducted into Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) by January next year.

He said PIA has been privatized and now operates under an independent Board of Directors.

The Parliamentary Secretary emphasized that the airline could not be directed to operate specific routes. However, he assured the House that PIA would commence flights from Karachi to the United Kingdom in January next year.

The House has now been prorogued.