The federal cabinet on Monday approved the National Prevention of Violent Extremism Policy, 2024 on the recommendation of the Interior Ministry.
In an address to the cabinet, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif lamented that uncertainty and chaos arising from last week’s Islamabad protests had negatively impacted the Pakistan Stock Exchange, with it only bouncing back after normalcy was restored in the federal capital.
Stressing on the need for economic stability to achieve growth, he urged all sectors to improve work toward enhancing exports, remittances, and production; strengthening local industry; creating employment; and developing Special Economic Zones. He also stressed on improving enforcement, saying revenue collection had increased this year due to the efforts of the Federal Board of Revenue.
According to Sharif, the government had allowed sugar exports—potentially earning $500 million—after reviewing available stocks to ensure stability of prices in the local market. He also commended the Pakistan Army for stemming smuggling from Afghanistan, claiming this had also helped stabilize sugar prices.
During his address, the prime minister appreciated the efforts of both incumbent Aviation Minister Khawaja Asif and former minister Khawaja Saad Rafique for PIA regaining access to European routes.
In its meeting, the federal cabinet approved, in principle, a proposal for the establishment of the Islamabad Central Business District Development Authority. On the recommendation of the Law Ministry, and in line with orders of the Sindh High Court, it approved a change in the limitations and jurisdiction of special courts. Further, it approved changes to the jurisdiction of special courts for Customs, Taxation and Anti-Smuggling in Quetta and Khuzdar. The cabinet also authorized additional sessions judges and other relevant courts to hear cases under the Lawyers Welfare and Protection Act, 2023 in accordance with orders of the high courts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Islamabad, Sindh and Balochistan.
The cabinet meeting approved the filing of a review petition against the Supreme Court’s ruling banning the import of monosodium glutamate (Chinese salt) on the recommendations of the Commerce Ministry, noting a report of experts had declared it safe for human health.
On the recommendation of the Federal Education and Technical Training Ministry, the cabinet approved the renewal of memoranda of understanding regarding Pakistan Chairs at the University of Cambridge, St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford, University of Jordan, Peking University China, and University of Heidelberg, Germany. It also approved the nomination of Dr. Habibur Rehman and Dr. Kamran Ansari as subject experts in the Board of Governors of the Center of Excellence at the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore. It similarly approved the nominations of Dr. Mumtaz Muhammad Shah and Dr. Muhammad Ahmed Farooqi as subject experts in the Board of Governors at the Center of Excellence in Mineralogy at the University of Balochistan.