THURSDAY JULY 12: Cabinet decides to increase seats for minorities: uniform loadshedding to be implemented

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Cabinet has decided to implement a uniform loadshedding policy across the country and directed the concerned Ministry to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply at Taraveeh, Sehar and Iftar during Ramazan.
The Cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf also decided to increase the number of seats for minorities in the National Assembly from existing 10 to 13 through an amendment in Article 51 (4) of the Constitution.
Speaking at a new conference after the Cabinet meeting, Minister for Information Qamar Zaman Kaira said Ministry of Water & Power would establish an interactive website where public could register their complaints if there is un-scheduled loadshedding during the specified timings in Ramazan. The complaints will be redressed immediately. The prime minister directed that equitable loadshedding should be ensured throughout the country. He said that the Secretary Water and Power while briefing the Cabinet on energy situation in the country informed that production of electricity has increased to 13650MW bringing down the shortfall to 3500MW. He apprised the cabinet that with the commissioning of new projects, approximately another 2000MW of electricity would soon be added to the national grid. He said that the government was taking necessary measures to curb the electricity theft and claimed that Punjab was being equally treated in terms of loadshedding.
The minister said that the prime minister informed the Cabinet about the letter received from Supreme Court Registrar seeking government response about the implementation of NRO case. The minister said that letter was received on Monday and has been sent to the Law Ministry with the directives to take the cabinet into confidence on the issue. He said that Law Minister informed the cabinet that as per rules the matter should be forwarded to the cabinet for approval. A special meeting of the cabinet can be convened‚ if necessary‚ to finalise the government response on the issue.
Kaira said that Law Minister who had recently taken the charge of the office has not been fully in picture about details of NRO implementation case and sought sometime to go through the case and then to inform the Cabinet. The prime minister directed the Law Minister to take the Cabinet into confidence on the issue in quickest possible time. Kaira said that the government was not resorting to delaying tactics and is only seeking time to submit response which does not mean disobeying the court order. The government has never stated that it would not write a letter but its position was that letter can not be written as per constitution. The Information Minister said that cabinet also approved Rs 2.5 billion Ramazan Package to enable 57,000 utility stores across the country to provide essential commodities at discount rates. Secretary Finance informed the Cabinet that rate of inflation registered a declining trend following reduction in the price of petrol by 18 percent and diesel by 9 percent. The overall 2.7 percent decrease in the prices of commodities of daily use was registered, he added.
In reply to a question about contempt of court law, Kaira said that legislation is right of Parliament and right to appeal at all the forums has been allowed in the contempt law recently approved by the Parliament. He said that even the Supreme Court in National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) case has observed that right of legislation rests with the Parliament.
The minister who was also accompanied by Minister of State for National Harmony Akram Meish Gill said that a committee was also constituted with Minister for Law, Minister for Interfaith Harmony and Minister for Religious Affairs to submit a comprehensive report to the Cabinet for bringing a Constitutional amendment in this respect. He said the committee would also meet with the provincial governments to increase minorities' seats in the provincial assemblies proportionate to the population of non-Muslim.In reply to another question about the speculations of possible threat to the system, Kaira said that he was not seeing any such happening and maintained that such speculations may be the desire of the forces who could not reach the Parliament through the process of election and may be aspiring these things.