ISLAMABAD, April 30: An amount of Rs65 billion was collected from 1985 to 1995 as Iqra surcharge, the National Assembly was informed on Wednesday in a written reply to a question.

In response to a question by Dr Farida Ahmed, Education Minister Zubaida Jalal said the surcharge was imposed from July 1, 1985, and withdrawn on June 30, 1994. However the minister did not answer a question about the amount spent for education, saying it was related to the finance division.