The Federal Cabinet will approve the 18th Constitutional Amendment Bill in its meeting scheduled today (Tuesday), sources told Business Recorder. The bill, which has been tabled in both the houses of the Parliament by Chairman Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms (PCCR), would be placed before the Cabinet for consideration.
The Chairman of the Committee and Advisor to Prime Minister Raza Rabbani would brief the Cabinet on the amendments and elaborate how it would improve relations between center and provinces. The Cabinet would approve the bill prior to the approval by Parliament because any change in the bill is unlikely during a week-long expected parliamentary debate, as it was already endorsed by the leadership of all the political parties represented in the committee.
The Cabinet would also give approval to a summary of Board of Investment to renegotiate the Pakistan-Czech Republic bilateral investment promotion and protection treaty. A proposal of Ministry of Food and Agriculture regarding disposal of carryover wheat stocks and procurement of the new crop would also be discussed in the Cabinet. The recently held meeting of Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet with Prime Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani in the chair also discussed wheat export issue.
The other items on the agenda of the meeting include approval in principle to the draft SAARC convention/ agreement treaty on co-operation on environment, and approval of draft Intellectual Property Rights Organisation of Pakistan Bill, 2010. The meeting would also take up State Bank of Pakistan Amendment Bill 2010, approval in principle of the draft Credit Bureau Act 2010, and implementation status of the Cabinet decision pertaining to the Finance Division.