ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet on Tuesday directed Pakistan’s Navy and Air Force to vacate state land they had “encroached upon” specifically in the national park area of the federal capital.
The cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan once again invited the opposition to sit with the government to discuss important national issues, but said Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif, Jamiat will not interact with. Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Maryam Nawaz and Altaf Hussain.
“They don’t even have the right to lead their parties as they are not part of Parliament,” the meeting said.
However, the Prime Minister decided to write a letter to the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Shahbaz Sharif, for consultation on the appointment of two members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said in a press release, “Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed that action be taken against influential and powerful people as well as organizations that occupied state lands and officers of the Navy and Air Force. asked to re-delineate its borders.” Conference after cabinet meeting
He said the Islamabad Capital Police has also been asked to move its posts from green areas.
“The prime minister wants action to be taken against the powerful people who are occupying the state’s land,” he said.
The minister said that the Centaurus mall management has also been asked to remove the encroachments.
It may be mentioned here that the building is owned by Sardar Tanveer Ilyas, the leader of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and hopeful for the slot of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) prime minister.
PM’s letter to Shahbaz
Fawad Chaudhry said that since the process of open and backdoor talks between the government and the opposition has begun, the prime minister will soon write a letter to Shehbaz Sharif to seek his consent on the appointment of two ECP members.
“However, the government will not discuss electoral reforms with fugitives like Nawaz Sharif and Altaf Hussain,” he said.
Chowdhury said many PML-N and PPP leaders were part of the parliamentary system and wanted reforms, while Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Safdar, Fazlur Rehman and others sought to disrupt it for personal gain.
The minister said the government and the opposition have to agree on some basic issues for the continuation of democracy and electoral reforms are important in this regard.
He said Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan, Information Technology Minister Syed Aminul Haque and Science and Technology Minister Shibli Faraz briefed the cabinet about Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
He further said that PTI has presented 49 proposals for electoral reforms and if the opposition has any objection to EVMs then it should suggest it.
The minister said the PTI had lost 10 bypolls, while the PML-N had started leveling allegations of rigging after losing just one provincial assembly seat.
He said, “PML-N has its own government in independent Jammu and Kashmir, with police and administration under its control, and also appointed a chief election commissioner, but when it was defeated in the election, its leadership cried foul, He said, adding that this was not the way to run a democratic system.
The minister said the vaccination drive was in full swing in various cities of the country but Karachi and Hyderabad were lagging behind, calling on the Sindh government to improve its performance to control the pandemic in the mega-cities.
“The federal government can only draw the attention of the provincial governments to their governance problems for the betterment of the people,” he said.
Mr Chowdhury said the cabinet meeting was also informed that 23 more Pakistani prisoners had arrived from Saudi Arabia today, adding that so far hundreds of civilians have been arrested for being involved in petty crimes due to the personal efforts of Prime Minister Imran Khan. have been lodged in prisons abroad.
“This shows how much the Prime Minister cared for foreign Pakistanis, especially the working class,” he said.
The minister said that in the eyes of the Prime Minister, the criterion to judge the performance of Pakistani missions was their dealings with compatriots.
“The officers posted in the mission should not only respect foreign Pakistanis like their family members, but also help them in solving their problems,” he said.
He said the cabinet has approved the appointment of Mohammad Jabbar Khan as the chief executive officer of Peshawar Electric Supply Company, adding that the issue of loadshedding was also raised.
“Power Minister Hammad Azhar had informed the cabinet that the current power supply in the country is between 24,000 to 26,000 MW and no loadshedding is being done,” Mr. Chowdhury said.
Regarding the current economic indicators, the Information Minister said that the cabinet was told that despite the coronavirus pandemic, the economy is moving in the right direction, showing a declining trend in inflation.
The current account deficit stood at $1.9 billion, up from $20 billion in 2018, he said, adding that exports and foreign reserves have reached record levels, an expression of the government’s prudent policies.
He said that during the last financial year, the private sector was given Rs 489 billion loan by banks, as compared to Rs 75 billion in the previous year.
He said the industrial sector was booming and duties on 61 items had been abolished to tackle the pandemic.
The minister said that the cabinet also approved the grant of loan of Rs 315 billion to the youth under the Kamyab Jawan programme.
The support price of cotton has been fixed at Rs 5,000 per 40 kg, which will attract farmers, he said, adding that the cabinet had rejected the proposal to hike the salaries of ministers and ministers of state.
Mr Chaudhry said the cabinet had also approved the extradition of Mujahid Parvez to the US after an investigation conducted in Pakistan found him guilty of corruption.
“We have an old extradition treaty with the US under which a wanted person, Hamesh Khan, was handed over to Pakistan,” he said.
Published in Dawn, August 4, 2021