PM says won't allow repeat of PTI's 2014 dharna

Cabinet sets up Relief Fund for Palestine & Lebanon; govt eyes $2 billion deals with Saudi Arabia

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday termed the weekend protest by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Islamabad a replica of the party's sit-in in 2014, and vowed that any repeat of that "gory tale" would not be allowed at any cost.

Addressing a cabinet meeting, Shehbaz said that the government expected the signing of deals worth $2 billion with Saudi Arabia during a visit by a high-level Saudi delegation ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit later this month.

"Such incidents are a replica of 2014 incidents when a sit-in was staged for months and was not called off despite the announcement of the Chinese president's visit to Pakistan, without bothering about its impact on the country's image and national economy," Shehbaz said in his opening remarks.

"Allegations are hurled against the government and attempts are made to create chaos at a time when the Chinese premier is about to pay a bilateral visit," he said. "We will not allow it [sit-in] to be repeated. We will not tolerate it at any rate, at any cost. This is my promise. I will not let it happen," he added.

"A Saudi delegation is also scheduled to visit Pakistan and MoUs and agreements worth $2 billion are expected to be signed," he said. Shehbaz thanked China, Saudi Arabia and the UAE for their support in obtaining the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan.

Prime Minister Shehbaz stressed the need for a peaceful and secure atmosphere to attract investment. He mentioned last week's "successful" visit of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim when two sides agreed that Pakistan would export Halal meat and rice to Malaysia.

He drew cabinet's attention to an attack near Karachi airport, killing two Chinese engineers, despite the government's all-out efforts to ensure their security. He reiterated his government's resolve to leave no-stone unturned to make the security of Chinese national "unreachable".

Highlighting his government's reform agenda, the prime minister mentioned twofold increase in the number of tax filers, broadening of tax base, the digitisation of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), increases in exports and remittances, fall in Inflation and cut in the prices of petroleum products.

"The government is making efforts to stabilise the economy and kick-start home-grown economic programme," Shehbaz continued. "Sabotaging all these efforts for the sake of politics will be the biggest conspiracy against the country," he warned.

Speaking about the PTI protests, he said that the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) chief minister, using government machinery, led saboteurs consisting of Afghan nationals, who carried out aerial firing in which an official of the Islamabad police was martyred.

The prime minister thanked the IMF managing director for her support in the approval of the IMF loan for Pakistan. He said that she was also appreciative of the reforms introduced by the incumbent government and the caretaker governments.

He mentioned the martyrdom of the security personnel in fighting against terrorists, and said the government knew where the terrorists were being funded from. The cabinet meeting offered Fateha for the security personnel martyred in different terrorist incidents.

The cabinet meeting approved the establishment of 'Prime Minister's Relief Fund for Palestine and Lebanon' to help the victims of Israeli brutalities. It also issued instructions to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to open an account in this regard.

According a press release issued by the Prime Minister's Office Media Wing, the cabinet was informed by the information technology ministry that implementation of e-office project was under way in all 40 divisions of the federal government, while 100% e-office had been implemented in some ministries.

The meeting was informed that Pakistan's position in the United Nations E-Governance Development Index had improved by 14 places due to the government's measures to implement e-governance. The prime minister directed for a review of the progress in this regard after two weeks.

The cabinet approved agreement for subsidies in the fisheries sector in the light of the decisions of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It also approved the signing of an agreement to grant sister-ports status to the Gwadar Port, Pakistan and Shanghai Port, China.

On the orders of the Balochistan High Court (BHC) chief justice and on the recommendation of the law ministry, the cabinet approved grant of jurisdiction to Gwadar judicial magistrate and Hub judicial magistrate to hear anti-narcotics cases.

The meeting endorsed the decisions taken in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Legislative Matters held on September 25, 2024 and the decisions taken by the Cabinet Committee on Chinese Investment projects in its meeting held on September 16, 2024.

It also approved the signing of a MoUs on political consultations between the foreign ministries of Pakistan and Rwanda and Ghana. The federal cabinet ratified the decisions of the Cabinet Committee on the Government-Owned Enterprises held on October 1.