Shehbaz Sharif urges other provinces to provide relief to electricity consumers from trillions of rupees transferred to them under NFC.  Urges swift resolution of Meta’s operational issues in Pakistan.  Says Pakistan Education Endowment Fund to support underprivileged students.  Reiterates Pakistan’s support for Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.

ISLAMABAD  -   Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said that instead of politicking, the provincial governments should follow the Punjab government’s course of providing relief to electricity consumers, scraping a chunk from the trillions of rupees transferred to them under the National Finance Commission.

The prime minister, chairing the meeting of the federal cabinet, said that the Punjab government had spared Rs 45 billion out of its own development budget to provide Rs14 per unit relief to the electricity consumers, utilising 200 to 500 units for a two-month period.

“This is the right of the people. The federal government has zero contribution to this relief package. Other provinces should also do the same. If the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government wants to give such relief to the people, we will be happy. But politicking should be avoided and facts should not be distorted,” the prime minister commented.

Rubbishing the criticism by a KP government representative alleging any discrimination by the federal government, he explained that it had nothing to do with that package. He told the cabinet members that almost 60% of the NFC funds went to the provinces. The federal government had to face immense challenges in the form of the payment of loans and interests on foreign-funded projects that benefited the whole of the country. He told the meeting that the federal government had also allocated Rs50 billion to provide a three-month relief to domestic consumers using up to 200 units of electricity which constituted around 86% of the total domestic consumers.

Besides, he said, in partnership with the Balochistan government, 28,000 tube wells would be solarised in the province costing Rs 70 billion, out of which Rs 55 billion would be borne by the federal government. This would benefit 28,000 farmers besides addressing the issue of power theft, he added.

The prime minister said that the federal government, in consultation with the provincial governments, was working on long-term measures to stabilise the economy and boost the country’s trade and exports.

He said the federal government would take all such measures after taking the IMF on board, unlike the PTI’s “irrational” step of violating the agreement which had taken the country to the brink of default.

Highlighting the outcome of the government’s economic policies, Prime Minister Shehbaz told the meeting that inflation had been reduced from 38% to 11.5% but more efforts were yet needed to improve further the situation. He also emphasised the efforts to meet the revenue target of Rs13.5 trillion and overcome the losses of the power sector.

The prime minister drew the cabinet’s attention to the deaths and destruction caused by the heavy rains and consequent flash floods in parts of the country and lauded the efforts of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), in collaboration with the provinces and PDMAs.

The cabinet also offered Fateha for the people who lost their lives in the rain and flood-related incidents and also the soldiers who sacrificed their lives in different incidents of terrorism.

Also, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said that the government had established the Pakistan Education Endowment Fund to support children from low-income families to obtain higher education.

The prime minister, in a meeting with Israr Khan Kakar, the newly elected President of Oxford Union of UK’s Oxford University, said that a 20% quota had been allocated for the youth of Balochistan under the Pakistan Education Endowment Fund.

Prime Minister Shehbaz warmly welcomed Israr Kakar at the PM House, appreciated him for bringing fame to Pakistan, and viewed that talented youth like him could guarantee a bright future for Pakistan.

He lauded Kakar for contesting and winning the Oxford Union election as a manifestation of his steadfastness and firm resolve. He expressed the hope that Pakistani youth like Israr Kakar would continue to bring laurels to Pakistan.

“Winning scholarship throughout the academic career and then his election as president of a great body like Oxford Union by a youngster coming from a backward area of Balochistan is a matter of pride,” the prime minister remarked.

Inviting him to address the Oxford Union, Israr Kakar appreciated Prime Minister Shehbaz for his government’s measures for youth empowerment and providing them equal opportunities.

“All of the youth like me, are resolved to offer all-out services for Pakistan’s progress and prosperity,” Kakar remarked.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday reiterated Pakistan’s unwavering support for the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination and strongly condemned Israel’s barbaric actions against innocent Palestinians in Gaza.

The prime minister, in a meeting with outgoing Ambassador of Palestine Ahmed Jawad A.A. Rabei who called on him here, said Israel’s barbarism since October 7, 2023, led to the heart-wrenching killing of over 40,000 innocent Palestinians, including women and children, and more than 90,000 injured.

He reaffirmed Pakistan’s strong commitment and support for efforts to find a just and lasting resolution of the Palestine issue through a two-state solution with the creation of an independent state of Palestine with pre-1967 borders and Al Quds as its capital, in accordance with relevant UN resolutions.

Ambassador Jawad thanked the prime minister for his support for the Palestinian cause as well as for the hospitality extended to him during his five-year tenure.

He lauded Pakistan’s historic and consistent stance on Palestine and its contribution to the international efforts for peace and stability in the region. The ambassador thanked the Government of Pakistan for providing much-needed humanitarian assistance and offering scholarships to Palestinian medical students to complete their studies in Pakistan. The prime minister wished the Palestinian ambassador success in his future endeavors.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also directed the concerned authorities to resolve all issues regarding Meta’s operations in Pakistan. He issued these directions during a meeting with a delegation of Meta that called on him in Islamabad. The delegation was led by Meta’s Vice President for Asia Pacific Simon Milner.

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said Pakistan has enormous potential in the fields of information technology and digital media.

He said for the first time in the country’s history, a record budget has been allocated for the promotion of information technology. The Prime Minister said Meta’s expertise in information technology and artificial intelligence will be leveraged. The delegation informed the Prime Minister about their services in Pakistan and Asia Pacific.

The federal cabinet Tuesday approved establishment of Prime Minister’s Skills Development Company to implement technical and vocational training programs.

The approval was granted at a meeting of federal cabinet in Islamabad today with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the chair.  

The federal cabinet also approved the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade of Uzbekistan and the Ministry of Commerce of Pakistan for promoting cooperation in e-commerce.

The cabinet approved handing over the operations of King Hamad University of Nursing and Associated Medical Sciences to the National University of Medical Sciences on the recommendation of Ministry of National Health Services.

The cabinet was briefed about the recent verdict of Supreme Court in Mubarak Sani case.

It was informed that a petition has been filed in the apex court by the federal government on the directives of Prime Minister after detailed discussion on the case in the National Assembly.

The Attorney General of Pakistan will appear before the Supreme Court for scheduled hearing of the petition on Thursday and will present his arguments in the light of opinions of ulema and National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Law and Justice.

On February 6, an SC bench, led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, overturned the conviction of Mubarak Sani, who was accused of an offence in 2019 under the Punjab Holy Quran (Printing and Recording) (Amendment) Act. In its judgement, the court noted that the offence which the defendant has been accused of was not criminalised till 2021. Consequently, the apex court set aside the conviction and ordered the immediate release of the petitioner.

This led to what the government and the legal community termed a “malicious and slanderous campaign” against the chief justice, even prompting the Supreme Court to issue a clarification.

The decision was subsequently challenged by the Punjab government on the grounds that paragraph 9 of the order, regarding Article 20 of the Constitution, needed to be modified as the rights of the citizens as envisaged under the provision were not absolute and instead subject to law, public order and morality.

While accepting the pleas, the Supreme Court on July 24 reportedly declared that the right to profess religion and religious freedom, as ensured by the Constitution, was subject to law, morality and public order.