ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet, Wednesday, reiterated the principled stand of the government of Pakistan that the Palestinian issue should be resolved in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations and the aspirations of the Palestinian people.
A federal cabinet meeting was held under the chairmanship of Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar.
In a post-cabinet media briefing, Federal Information Minister Murtaza Solangi said that the forum discussed the issue of Palestine.
UN rights chief condemns illegal Israeli ‘siege’ of Gaza
He said the cabinet demanded that the Palestinian issue be resolved according to the UN resolutions. It demanded that pre-1967 status of Palestine be restored.
The cabinet strongly condemned the bombing by Israel on innocent Palestinians, especially the civilian population, in Gaza.
The federal cabinet expressed concern over the dire situation resulting from Israel’s encirclement of Gaza, especially food and water shortages.
The cabinet also emphasised that the recent tension in Occupied Palestine is a result of Israel’s seven-decade-long illegal occupation, oppression of innocent Palestinians and flagrant violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
The cabinet demanded to immediately stop the ongoing bombing of Palestinians in Gaza and to end the illegal siege and allow international aid to reach the victims.
The establishment of an independent Palestinian state should be implemented with its borders as before the occupation in 1967 and its capital should be Al-Quds al-Sharif.
Pakistan will be a part of global efforts regarding the situation in Gaza, the minister added.
The information minister further said that the prime minister instructed the federal ministers to make only essential foreign visits. He also directed the cabinet members not to make such visits which are not necessary.
The cabinet approved the appointment of former Lahore High Court judge Sohail Nasir as deputy chairman NAB.
The cabinet approved the appointment of Syed Ehtsham Qadir Shah as NAB prosecutor general accountability.
The cabinet meeting approved hiring the services of a financial advisory consortium for the privatisation of PIA.
On the recommendation of the Ministry of External Affairs, the cabinet approved Brigadier Shahid Amir Afshar to receive the medal assigned by China for the promotion of Pakistan-China relations.
On the recommendation of the Ministry of Interior, the federal cabinet approved the extradition of Shahzad Ahmed, son of Wali Muhammad Qureshi, wanted in a fraud case under the extradition agreement between Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.
The cabinet also approved the extradition of another wanted Pakistani national, Arshad Ali son of Mazhar Ali under the extradition treaty between Kuwait and Pakistan.
The federal cabinet approved the decisions made in the meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee held on October 3, 2023.
In the meeting, the decisions regarding the committee on State Owned Enterprises in the meetings held on January 21 and 28 were confirmed.
The minister said that the action is not being taken against Afghan nationals who have been living here for the past 40 years and have POR cards.
Action is not being taken against such Afghan citizens who were issued citizenship cards by the previous Afghan government, their verification process involved representatives of the then Afghan government, he further added.
Voluntary repatriation deadline of October 31 is given to those who do not have visas or any legal documents, they are staying here illegally, Murtaza Solangi said. Thousands of such illegal residents have started going back, he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023