ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed that a committee should be established immediately to control the prices of food items and other daily items in the country.
While presiding over the first meeting of the newly-elected federal cabinet, the prime minister also explained the roadmap of the newly-elected government during a conversation with the cabinet members. The prime minister congratulated the newly-elected cabinet members.
He said that strict action should be taken against the unnecessary increase in the prices of essential commodities and illegal profiteering, and no negligence will be tolerated in this regard.
Federal cabinet likely to take oath today
He said the committee together with the provincial governments will monitor the prices of food items and other daily-use items.
On the recommendation of the Ministry of Interior, the federal cabinet approved the application of a Dutch citizen, Muhammad Aurangzeb, to regain Pakistani citizenship.
The federal cabinet has approved the appointment of Major General Abdul Moeed as the Director General of the Anti-Narcotics Force on the recommendation of the Ministry of Anti-Narcotics.
Addressing the federal cabinet meeting, the PM highlighted the roadmap of his government and stated that dearness is the biggest challenge and the first test for the new government.
He said that the challenges are daunting for the new government but expressed the hope that the government would overcome these challenges.
He said that the government has allocated Rs12 billion for Ramazan Package and it is the responsibility of the government now to monitor the Utility Stores so that the subsidized goods reached the deserving people.
The federal government will provide help to the provinces to ensure stability in the prices. There is no justification to provide subsidy when the poor are facing dearness while circular debt of power and gas sector has reached over Rs5 trillion. He said that the annual losses of electricity are Rs500 billion.
He said that the SIFC is also a platform that would help attract foreign investment in different sectors. He said by closing the GENCOS, the losses of power sector can be reduced.
He deplored that the fiscal situation is so bad that the government is paying salaries by borrowing. He said that there is corruption in the FBR more than its revenue collection from existing taxes.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
Comments
Comments are closed.