Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif said on Monday Pakistan was facing a serious security situation and to address the extraordinary situation, extraordinary measures were needed.
The Prime Minister, in his opening remarks to the Federal Cabinet which met at PM Office under his chair, referred to the All Parties Conference (APC), which was convened earlier and said its decisions were endorsed by all the political parties. He said the APC also endorsed the stance that economy and security of Pakistan would not be played upon for gaining political mileage and most of the political parties had shown maturity in this regard.
A number of developments have taken place thereafter and the government is closely following them, the Prime Minister said and added,”We will keep political parties informed of these developments and take them into confidence.”
The Prime Minister said cross border illegal movement at the porous border between Afghanistan and Pakistan needed to be curbed.  He directed the Interior Ministry officials to take up this matter with their Afghan counterparts and evolve a joint mechanism / strategy.
He said,”We would do whatever possible to restore peace, alleviate poverty and put the country on the road to progress, we have to establish rule of law and create a society based on equality, justice and mutual respect.
“We are not going to compromise on this at all,” he added.
The cabinet was given a comprehensive briefing on Internal Security Policy draft and after extensive discussions it was decided to incorporate suggestions and proposals given by the cabinet members. The draft policy would be brought before the cabinet for further deliberations in its next meeting.
The Prime Minister, on this occasion, appreciated the important role played by the media and law enforcement agencies in the war against terror.
The cabinet also noted with satisfaction that the Karachi Stock Exchange had crossed the record level of 27,000 points, which was an evidence of business community’s confidence in the economic policies of the government.
The Prime Minister said the country had great potential and if peace and security was restored, it could achieve significant economic progress and development in short time.
The cabinet gave its consent to the signing of a number of memorandums of understanding (MoUs), including ex-post facto approval for MoU with M/S Norinco International (People’s Republic of China) on energy and mass
transit projects and approval for an MoU with India for trade of electricity.
According to the MoU between the Government of Pakistan and M/S Norinco International (People’s Republic of China), it is agreed that both sides shall pursue cooperation in the fields of mass transit, energy particularly solar energy projects in different provinces of Pakistan, setting up of industrial cities along the motorways, solar irrigation projects and road sector projects.
The MoU contains provision allowing Government of Pakistan to identify any other sector in which it requires technical, financial, and managerial assistance, knowledge or expertise of M/s Norinco.
The cabinet gave approval to the signing of the MoU between Pakistan and India for trade of electricity. The Ministry of Water & Power had initiated
negotiations with India in this regard. The World Bank has undertaken to finance feasibility study of the project.
The Federal Cabinet accorded approval to the signing of MoU with the EXIM Bank of Turkey for a Credit Line of US$ 300 million for Pakistan. The credit line will be utilized for promotion of trade between the two countries.
Formal approval of the Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation between China and Pakistan was accorded by the cabinet for Interest-Free Loan of RMB 100 million for a period of 20 years, including ten years grace period. The loan will predominantly be used for education purposes.
The cabinet considered and accorded approval to the negotiated / signed Agreement on Waiver of Visa Requirements for Holders of Diplomatic, Special and Official Passport between Pakistan and Kuwait and also gave approval for its ratification.