Cabinet gives green light to Lawyers Protection Bill

The federal cabinet on Friday green-lighted the Lawyers Protection Bill for tabling it in parliament for approval, and endorsed the decision of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) to increase the cotton support price.

The cabinet met here at the Prime Minister House, with Premier Shehbaz Sharif in the chair. The ministers allowed the winding down of the SME Bank on the recommendation of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

The federal cabinet approved the decisions taken by the Cabinet Committee on Legislative Cases on March 13, including the Lawyers Protection Bill. The bill has been prepared at the request of lawyers for their protection.

The cabinet also approved the decisions taken in the meetings of the ECC held on March 14 and 15. The decisions also include the increase in the support price of cotton to Rs8,500 per 40 kilogrammes.

While approving the winding down of the SME Bank, the cabinet directed that the deposits of all the customers must be protected. In the first phase, payments of Rs5.557 billion would be made to the bank customers.

On the recommendation of the interior ministry, the cabinet approved the formation of an inquiry committee, headed by the additional deputy commissioner concerned, for the extradition of an accused to Saudi Arabia.

The accused Wasim Aslam is wanted by the Saudi government in a murder case. Pakistan has an agreement with the Saudi government for the extradition of criminals. The cabinet formed the committee under the Extradition Act 1972.

Also the cabinet reconstituted the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee on the recommendation of the religious affairs ministry. The 13-member committee would have representatives from all the provinces.

On the recommendation of the finance ministry, the cabinet approved the signing of 15 bilateral and two multilateral memoranda of understanding with various countries and international organisations.