Shehbaz to chair cabinet meeting today with heavy agenda

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif Wednesday convened a meeting of the federal cabinet on Thursday (today).

Starting at 11.30am, the meeting would take up a six-point agenda, including approval of resignation of SME Bank President Tahir Hussain and appointment of his successor.

The federal cabinet would also approve the Economic Policy State, which would be presented before the National Assembly.

The meeting would also constitute an inquiry commission on alleged police torture of a citizen, Shahbaz Shabbir, and appointment of members of the National Commission on Status of Women (NCSW). The meeting would also approve withdrawal of administrative control of the Ministry of Human Rights on the National Commission for Child Welfare and Development (NCCWD).

Meanwhile, chairing a high-level meeting here, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Wednesday emphasised the need for taking new initiatives to attract and retain top talent, as it was vital to focus on investment in the country.

Minister for Finance and Revenue Federal Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Dr. Musadik Malik, Ahad Cheema, Attaullah Tarar, Sardar Awais Leghari, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Muhammad Jehanzeb, Minister of State Shaza Fatima and high-level officials attended the meeting.

The meeting was aimed at creating a more capable workforce able to deliver the government’s policy programme effectively and also was founded on the principles of impartiality and recruitment on merit, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release.

Shehbaz said investors wanted to invest in places where there was talent and where politics and policies were stable and the system worked.

Shehbaz constituted a committee under the chairmanship of finance minister to seek and firm up propositions in the policy to enhance and clarify the work pass framework currently in vogue in ministries to better support Pakistan’s need for talent with the directions to submit its findings at the earliest. The prime minister said Pakistan must build a world class talent pool because this was an age where talent made all the difference to a nation’s success.

The participants of the meeting highlighted the barriers to appoint people from outside such as long timescales processes that prevented a proper search for the best candidates and pay inflexibility that made it all difficult to attract the best talent, particularly in areas of skills shortages.

Meanwhile, talking to French Ambassador Nicolas Galey, who paid a courtesy call on him, Shehbaz emphasised the need for working together to enhance cooperation between Pakistan and France, particularly in the areas of trade and investment.

The prime minister welcomed the initiative of the French side to bring corporate leaders from top French companies on a visit to Pakistan soon. He also invited the French companies to invest in Pakistan. The prime minister, who was accompanied by Foreign Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar and SAPM Tariq Fatemi, also shared that stabilization of economy was on top of the government’s agenda.

The ambassador handed a congratulatory letter from French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal to Prime Minister Shehbaz on his re-election.

The prime minister thanked the French leadership for the message of greetings. The situation in Gaza was also discussed in the meeting and the prime minister appreciated French peace efforts in the region. The situation in Afghanistan was also discussed.