The federal cabinet on Thursday allowed Pakistanis holding dual nationality to take part in the elections and formed a committee to initiate the process of required legal amendments.
Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired a meeting of the federal cabinet, which viewed that providing overseas Pakistanis an opportunity to take part in the political process was in the interest of the country.
Imran Khan also directed the federal cabinet to ensure that price of the flour was not increased, and keep a constant vigil on the price of the commodity.
He called for keeping an eye on the situation of availability of wheat and directed the authorities concerned to ensure that no artificial shortage was created anywhere in the country.
The cabinet ratified decisions of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) taken on July 17, 2019. The ECC in its meeting had slapped a ban on export of wheat and flour to arrest recent hike in prices of the staple food.
The cabinet decided to keep some regulatory departments under the purview of the Cabinet Division until further orders so that they could perform their responsibility without any interference. The departments included Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, Frequency Allocation Board, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) and Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA).
The prime minister stressed the need for making the role of regulations and regulatory departments possibly minimised so that business activities were promoted and all hurdles under the head of regulations could be removed effectively.
The federal cabinet approved additional secretary (expenditures), Ministry of Finance, as member of the Commission for Inquiry on Foreign Loans during the last ten years.
The cabinet amended the rules for recruitment of Pakistan Academy of Letters chairman, besides approving to abolish the column of ‘profession’ from the passport.
The cabinet also granted 120-days extension to the eighth wage board award. During a briefing on the steps to uplift Pakistan Post and its output, the cabinet was told that the revenue of the institution had increased by 70 percent from Rs 10.8 billion in 2017-18 to Rs 18.05 billion in 2018-19. The cabinet was also informed in detail about the measures being taken to modernise the Pakistan Post. Federal Minister for Communications Murad Saeed said that the deficit of Pakistan Post would be met by the end of the current year. The prime minister and the cabinet hailed the performance of the minster, employees and officers of Pakistan Post.
Prime Minister Imran Khan told the federal cabinet that his recent trip to the US was successful, as he had discussed several important issues with US President Donald Trump. He said that Pakistan was looking forward to having better relations with the US in the future. He said Pakistan had been able to present itself on equal terms with Washington, and that the issue of Kashmir was highlighted to the fullest. He said Pakistan wanted resolution of the Kashmir issue. “The offer of the US president to mediate on the dispute is important for regional peace.” He also said that Pakistan would keep playing its role for durable peace in Afghanistan.
He stated that President Donald Trump would soon visit Pakistan. The cabinet lauded his successful US visit and appreciated his austerity during the trip.
Details of expenses incurred by former premiers Yousaf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, and former president Mamnoon Hussain on foreign tours were also presented in the meeting.
