Awan spells out objective

The government's primary objective of the proposed tax amnesty scheme is to ensure that undeclared assets and money held by Pakistanis abroad are brought back to the country. Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said this while addressing a press conference following the federal cabinet's meeting on Tuesday.
She said the government is finalising priorities and soon the scheme would be presented in the form of a comprehensive document at the relevant forum for approval. Declaring Iran a brother neighbouring country, Awan said, "Removal of misunderstanding between Islamabad and Tehran is necessary." She said that both the countries would have to further strengthen trade relations. She said Prime Minister Imran Khan took the cabinet into confidence on his recent visit to Iran and facilitated the new members of the cabinet.
Awan said, "The cabinet endorsed the policies of PM Imran Khan and his vision of democracy that is free from corruption and functions only to empower the common man and reduce their problems. "Referring to the Prime Minister's upcoming visit to China, she said a better Free Trade Agreement would be signed with China in order to protect local industry. She said, "The previous agreement signed did not cater to the interests of local industry. However, due to successful diplomacy of PM Khan, China has agreed to sign an FTA on the pattern of the one that it has with ASEAN countries on much better terms."
Awan said that Special Assistant to PM on National Health Services Dr Zafarullah Mirza briefed the cabinet on his findings regarding increase in prices of drugs and said a meeting with pharmaceutical companies and other stakeholders will be held soon to bring down the prices of medicines so that people can afford medical treatment.
The additional amount charged by these companies will be recovered by the government and submitted in Pakistan Baitul Maal, the minister said and added that this amount will be used to provide free treatment to poor patients suffering from various diseases. The cabinet was briefed on inflation and rising prices of essential items, she said and added that the cabinet decided to keep a check on prices of essential items during the holy month of Ramazan, besides keeping an eye on hoarders and cartels.
She said, "Inflation rate during the last eight months of this government is still less as compared with the same period of the previous two governments." Awan said the Prime Minister directed all ministers to introduce policies in public interest and improve their performance in order to resolve the issues faced by public. She further said, "The Prime Minister has already assigned targets to his economic team in order to create a people-friendly budget."
Awan said the cabinet also discussed the LNG agreements signed by previous government which are expensive and not in interest of Pakistan. She said the new LNG agreements would be transparent and based on competitive pricing.