Shehbaz Sharif tells National Assembly finance minister-led committee constituted for downsizing of various departments. 10pc additional budget allocated for South Punjab: PM. PM takes cabinet into confidence over operation Azm-e-Istehkam. Says no additional duty will be imposed on solar panels.

ISLAMABAD  -   Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said that tangible results of the government’s ongoing efforts to reduce its expenditures would appear within around one and a half months.

The prime minister, responding to a point of order by an opposition member at the National Assembly, said the government had already ordered abolishing the Pakistan Public Works Department (Pak PWD), citing massive corruption in its development budget. He told the House that a rightsizing committee had been formed under Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and expressed the hope that he would come up with tangible results within almost one and a half months.

The prime minister said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz led government always gave special focus on the uplift of South Punjab by providing the budget and employment higher than the population ratio. Besides, a 10% increased share was given to the region in the laptop as well as PM Rozgar schemes and the stipend for girl students was raised from Rs 200-Rs 1,000 under the Zevar Taleem Programme.

Moreover, he said, the Federal Government had also funded mega infrastructure projects in South Punjab, including Lodhran-Khanewal Motorway and Dera Ghazi Khan-Muzaffargarh Motorway.

Talking about fertilizers rates, the prime minister said the nation will soon hear good news once a response comes from the International Monetary Fund.

Also, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says young businessmen can play a vital role in the promotion of country’s exports. Talking to the delegation of young entrepreneurs in Islamabad, he said the economy of country can be stimulated by converting the large number of young people into a talented workforce.

He said government will provide all facilities to the business community for the promotion of economic activities. He said using modern farming techniques in order to increase in the production of agricultural commodities will be proven fruitful for the overall growth of the country’s exports.

Shehbaz Sharif said government is trying to end gender discrimination in providing economic opportunities.

On the occasion, Shehbaz Sharif directed authorities concerned to establish a Youth Entrepreneur Advisory Committee on the pattern of Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Committee.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, ruling out any large-scale military operation, on Tuesday said that Azm-e-Istehkam was a multi-domain, multi-agency and whole of system national vision, aimed at decisively rooting out the nebulous and shadowy presence of remnants of terrorists, and violent extremism.

The prime minister, chairing a meeting of the federal cabinet, took the members into confidence about the prevailing misunderstanding and speculations about the Azm-e-Istehkam, saying that instead of any large-scale operation, the already ongoing intelligence-based kinetic operations, would be energised and expedited.

In his remarks, he informed the cabinet members that no additional duty would be imposed on the solar panels to ensure the accessibility of low-cost energy to every citizen. He said the government was planning to put the national economy on a positive trajectory and expressed satisfaction over the country heading towards economic stability.

The prime minister reiterated the resolve to boost the country’s exports by promoting Small and Medium Enterprises and withdrawing privileges from the elite class and those exploiting the national resources.

The economic protection of the common man and providing them equal opportunities were among the government’s priorities, he added.

Discussing the annual budget 2024-25, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif instructed the cabinet members to ensure their presence in the ongoing budget debate in the Parliament.

During the briefing, the cabinet members were informed that the privatisation of the PIA was moving ahead swiftly as companies showing interest in the pre-bidding process, were visiting different PIA sites and bidding of the PIA will be held in the first week of August.

The prime minister instructed to accelerate the PIA privatisation while ensuring transparency in the process.   

On the Commerce Ministry’s recommendation and request from the World Food Programme of Afghanistan, the federal cabinet approved transit of a truck from Karachi to Kabul carrying the spare-parts of the trucks, just for once on humanitarian grounds.

The body gave the go-ahead to signing of an MoU between the Ministry of Religious Affairs of Pakistan and that of Saudi Arabia. It also extended till March 2025 the time-frame of an implementation committee on the immovable property of late Ameer of Bahawalpur, in the light of the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s ruling and recommendation of the States and Frontier Regions Division. The Federal Cabinet also approved the appointment of the Executive Director of the Frequency Allocation Board.

During the briefing on the Economic Coordination Committee’s decision, the Cabinet meeting was informed that the country had sufficient stock of sugar and the Sugar Advisory Board and relevant departments had approved exporting the leftover stock of sugar after taking into account the expected consumption before the next crushing season and assessing the surplus stock.

The prime minister said the government would not tolerate any increase in the sugar price and instructed the formation of a committee to monitor the sugar price and stop its export in case of any possibility of a price hike. The meeting approved the annual report of the National Economic Council for fiscal year 2022-23, prepared by the Planning Ministry for tabling before the Parliament.

The Federal Cabinet endorsed the Economic Coordination Committee’s decisions of June 13, 2024; Cabinet Committee on Legislative Cases of June 11, 2024 and Cabinet Committee on State Owned Enterprises’s decision of June 20, 2024.