Islamabad:
The Senate was informed on Friday that the registration of the miners with the staff of the old age benefit institution (EOBI) was handled through provincial settings, while a committee had been formed domestic employees across the country.
When he spoke on behalf of the Human Resource Development Ministry during the question of the question, Prime Minister of Law Aqeel Malik said that more than 11.44 million workers were registered with Eobi, adding that all of them had been issued the registration cards.
“Although the Eobi site does not update registration in real time, steps are taken to ensure automatic online data integration,” Malik said. “The number of insured workers has since risen to about 11.6 million,” he added.
In response to a question from Ssenator Danesh Kumar, the prime minister said that details regarding insurance rights, affiliated companies, hospital access and posthumous benefits would be arranged in writing. Malik stated that a 15% increase in Eobi pensions had been approved.
To another question from Shahadat Awan, he clarified that the registration of miners was handled through provincial setups. He also said that a special committee constituted directives from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who was actively working to register housework workers across the country.
Senator Masroor Ahsan raised the request for eobi-owned properties. Malik replied that it currently had 49 buildings-24 in Punjab, 14 in Sindh, five in Islamabad, four in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and two in Balochistan. He added that 40 buildings were rented space for regional and field offices.
However, Ahsan pointed out that the data did not include plot owned by Eobi. He suggested that the question be referred to a relevant Senate Committee. Malik said that details regarding eobi plot would also be submitted shortly.
In response to Zamer Ghumro’s questions about Eobis Devolution to the provinces, the prime minister told Parliament that the case would be placed before the Council for Common Interest (CCI) and decided in accordance with constitutional provisions.
In response to several other inquiries, the prime minister said 37 agreements were made in the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis through a ‘Office memorandum’ issued by the Finance Division on September 6, 2024.
Senator Abdul Shakoor Khan expressed concern about the limited representation from Balochistan, Senator Danesh Kumar criticized the absence of quotas reserved for women and people with disabilities. Malik said recruitment was made on open profits and local basis that included minority quotas.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said that disadvantaged regions — as Balochistan, interior Sindh, southern Punjab and parts of KP were prioritized.
