ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly standing committee expressed grave concern after the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) revealed that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) deducted over Rs2 billion in taxes, from the Board account as a business corporation whereas it is a government body which decided to call the Chairman FBR to discuss this matter in-camera in the next meeting.
The Standing Committee on National Heritage & Culture Division held its sixth meeting on Wednesday under the Chairpersonship of Syeda Nosheen Iftikhar.
ETPB Chairman apprised the Committee that the FBR had deducted more than Rs 2 billion tax from the account of ETPB as a business corporation whereas it is a government body.
READ MORE: ETPB-managed properties: SC CB suspends PHC’s tax levy verdict
The Committee showed serious concern and decided to call the FBR Chairman to discuss this matter in-camera in the next meeting. The Committee also decided to conduct the next meeting in Karachi.
Additional Secretary of ETPB informed the Committee that the boundary wall of the Gurdwara Nanak Sar, Tehsil Daska will be completed within two weeks. The Committee directed the Additional Secretary of ETPB to consult with Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora, Pardhan of Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee for the restoration of the Gurdwara Nanak Sar, Tehsil Daska.
The Committee approved the minutes of the previous meeting, followed by an in-depth discussion on the compliance report regarding the recommendations of the last meeting.
Regarding the recommendation to contact the third generation of Allama Iqbal’s descendants to gather additional material regarding him, the Director of the Iqbal Academy Pakistan reported that the Iqbal Academy Pakistan had recorded interview of Mian Iqbal Salahuddin which was being transcribed for scholarly book form and other family members are also being contacted.
The Committee recommended that the Secretary of National Heritage and Culture Division would arrange a session of Members of the Standing Committee with family members of Allama Muhammad Iqbal in Lahore during a meeting in near future.
As far as the Committee’s previous recommendation to initiate the process of the construction of a National Museum of Pakistan in Islamabad, the Secretary of National Heritage and Culture Division apprised the Committee that an 8.33 acre of land at Shakarparian, Islamabad had been allotted to the Department of Archaeology and Museums for the establishment of the Islamabad Museum wherein the process of taking possession from CDA is under way.
The Committee recommended that Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives may allocate and release funds to the National Heritage and Culture Division for the construction of the National Museum of Pakistan in the Federal Budget 2026-27.
The Committee considered “The National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage (Lok Virsa) (Amendment) Bill, 2025” (Government Bill) and unanimously approved all the proposed amendments in the said Bill and recommended that the Bill, as introduced, may be passed by the National Assembly.
Director General of the National Language Promotion Department gave a comprehensive briefing to the Committee on taking practical measures to promote the Urdu language, progress on the creation of Urdu e-books and the update on the approval process for offering Urdu as an optional language for attempting the CSS exams.
The Committee recommended to call the Secretary of the Establishment Division to discuss the matter of offering Urdu as an optional language for attempting the CSS exams in the next meeting.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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