ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet on Tuesday approved funding of Rs410 million to the Interior Ministry for stopping the possible ‘long march’ by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The cabinet meeting was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in which, the cabinet expressed deep concern over the incident of firing on a school bus in Swat and condemned it in strong words and recited Fateha for the martyrs and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured children.
The cabinet said that cheap electricity would be generated from Thar Coal project which will help reduce the energy import bill of 24 billion dollars.
Referring to his recent visit to Thar, the prime minister said that cheap electricity can be generated through the Thar Coal project. In the past, there was unnecessary delay in this project which is no less than a national tragedy but now this project is of utmost priority. The prime minister further said that this project will help reduce the energy import bill of 24 billion dollars.
The prime minister also paid tribute to all the stakeholders working in this regard and directed to hold an important review meeting next week.
On the recommendation of the Ministry of Housing and Works, the federal cabinet approved the allotment of 23 kanals of land on Nabha Road, Lahore to the Supreme Court of Pakistan for the Lahore Registry of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
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On the recommendation of the Ministry of Interior, the federal cabinet included the countries in the business visa list to promote business relations with them. These countries include: Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Rwanda, Belarus, and Slovakia.
The federal cabinet also approved the extension of the family visit visa from one year to two years. The cabinet also gave approval of issuance of 30-day non-extendable family visit category single-entry visa on travel/ asylum/ temporary documents certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the recommendation of the Ministry of Interior.
The federal cabinet also approved the following additions to the Pakistan Online Visa System (POVS) on the recommendation of the Ministry of Interior which includes: (i) Fields showing address and place of stay of applicants, intended entry port/ border/ airport, place of work, contact details including sponsor details may be made mandatory. Same fields shall also be made mandatory for private individuals other than CPEC projects. (ii) In case of business visa, contact details of the sponsor may be made mandatory.
The prime minister directed to form a committee under the chairmanship of Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif regarding the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Measures Implementation Roadmap presented by the Ministry of Energy (Power Division).
For Industry and Production, Syed Murtaza Mehmood, Railway Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Law Minister Nazir Tarar, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman, Investment Board Minister Chaudhry Salik Hussain will be the members. This committee will review the proposed plan and formulate long-term, medium-term and short-term strategies in this regard.
The prime minister said that public awareness regarding this energy saving is very important and a proper awareness campaign should be started in this regard.
The prime minister directed the Ministry of Energy (Power Division) to give a detailed briefing next week regarding power theft, line losses and their remedy.
The federal cabinet approved the decisions taken in the meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on 30-09-2022 and 10-10-2022.
The committee also condemned the arrest warrant against Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah. Anti-corruption department got the arrest warrant over the wrong record, the cabinet members added. The cabinet also discussed the investigation of the audio leaks of the PM house and the lost cypher from the PM House’s record. The cabinet has approved to hold an investigation and legal action into recent audio leaks of the PTI chairman regarding diplomatic cipher.
According to the details, the federal cabinet approved the recommendations of a Cabinet Committee through circulation which was formed to inquire the matter. The cabinet committee recommended that legal action is necessary as it is a matter of national security. It recommended forming a committee of senior officials of the Federal Investigation Agency to investigate the matter. The FIA may also include officers and personnel from intelligence agencies in the team.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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