Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan on Tuesday said the ‘Kashmir Mission’ of Prime Minister Imran Khan to the United Nations remained successful, as all set targets were achieved through an effective diplomacy.
Addressing a press conference after the federal cabinet meeting, she said the prime minister had around 70 direct or indirect interactions with world leaders, think tanks and international media during his recent visit to the United States. Moreover, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also held 50 meetings.
The agenda of all the 120 meetings was to expose Indian atrocities over innocent people of Indian-held Kashmir, she added.
Dr Firdous said many world leaders only came to know the worsening human rights situation in IHK during those meetings and acknowledged Pakistan’s stance in that regard.
She said the prime minister told his cabinet members about setting up of an international English channel by Pakistan, Turkey and Malaysia like BBC to highlight the issues of Muslims and counter Islamophobia in the West by promoting the true ideology of Islam.
The special assistant said the prime minister directed the provincial governments to control flour prices and devise an effective mechanism to ensure its availability.
Dr Firdous said Special Assistant on Health Dr Zafar Mirza had apprised the cabinet on the dengue cases reported in all the provinces.
The prime minister, she said, directed the Federal Health Ministry to provide all-out support to the provinces to control dengue virus, besides taking concrete and preemptive steps to cope with the disease in the future.
The special assistant said the cabinet had given in principle approval to the e-commerce policy presented by the Ministry of Commerce.
The Commerce Ministry officials informed the cabinet about the policy framework, which was formulated in the light of the best practices followed by the developed countries. The payment gateway was being developed to promote the e-commerce industry in Pakistan, they added.
Dr Firdous said the prime minister told the members that e-commerce sector would play a central role in flourishing economy and providing employment to the youth.
She said an inter-ministerial committee had been set up to ensure uninterrupted supply of Halal meat and other commodities across the country, and the Ministry of Science and Technology was given the supervisory role in that regard.
The cabinet was informed that renowned professors had been appointed for the chairs set up in five foreign universities in the past to achieve the education-centric goals.
The Ministry of Information told the cabinet that the terms of references had been finalised to conduct the feasibility for the establishment of Media University in the federal capital.
The Prime Minister Performance Delivery Unit (PMDU) had emerged as a popular digital platform for public welfare, as it had been selected among 4,646 applications in Dubai, Dr Firdous said. Besides receiving around 1.23 million complaints so far, she added the PMDU had registered some 1.17 million people. It had some 86 percent redressal rate, as more than one million complaints had been resolved, the cabinet was informed.
With 92 percent complaints redressal rate, the federal capital stood atop, while the Sindh province exhibited poor performance with 84 percent pendency rate.
The special assistant said the cabinet approved amendments to rules of business for transferring National Counter Terrorism Authority affairs to the Ministry of Interior.
The cabinet, she said, also decided to avail the services of Horwath Hussain Chaudhry and Company for conducting the audit of National Database and Registration Authority’s accounts for the fiscal year 2018-19.
The prime minister, she said, directed to launch in a two-week time a new application “Mera Bacha Alert” to effectively tackle the unfortunate incidents and cases of child abduction and missing children in the country.
The cabinet also approved appointment of Muhammad Umar Zahid as director debt policy coordination office, and extension in the tenure of Saudi Pak Industrial and Agricultural Investment Company Ltd for 50 years.
To a query, she said the prime minister lauded the performance of Information Ministry and appreciated her for being available as the government’s spokesperson round the clock.
