Cabinet denounces Waziristan check post attack

PM’s aide says nation stands with tribal people

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet has strongly condemned the attack on the army check post in North Waziristan and maintained that the people of Pakistan stand shoulder to shoulder with the tribal citizens for their rights and safety to life and property.

“However, no restraint will be observed against those who insult the national flag and put national security at stake,” Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said while briefing the media about the cabinet decisions on Tuesday.

The incident in North Waziristan was unfortunate as miscreants had challenged writ of the state by attacking an army check post where a soldier embraced martyrdom, she said.

NA committee approves resolution against attack on check post

The cabinet denounced the incident and offered prayers for the martyred soldier and expressed solidarity with the injured.

Dr Awan said the tribal people had rendered sacrifices for the restoration of peace in the erstwhile Fata. She maintained that they had faced hardships and extremists were not content with the return of peace.

The special assistant said that the government cleared all no-go areas in the tribal districts by restoring writ of the state after which peace, development and prosperity started to return to the region.

She said Prime Minister Imran Khan has allocated Rs102 billion for the tribal districts.

The special assistant added that both the federal and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa governments stand with the people of tribal districts for their rights.

Meanwhile, the cabinet decided to hand over investigations into reported corruption in Kacchi Canal project to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

It also approved additional Hajj quota as well as new taxes on cigarettes and unhygienic beverages.

Section 144 imposed in South Waziristan

The cabinet was told that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had identified and recovered 17 properties worth Rs11 billion from a grade-19 officer in audit department of the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA).

The properties were made by misusing the funds allocated for ERRA to build houses for the quake victims.

The federal cabinet has so far conducted 42 sessions during which 819 decisions have been taken.

Of 819 decisions, 584 decisions have been implemented whereas 195 decisions are in the process of implementation, while time has been specified for the remaining 40 per cent of decisions.

The prime minister has directed all the federal ministers to play their role in expediting the implementation on these decisions. The cabinet secretary said that a dashboard has been built for daily monitoring of the progress on cabinet decisions.