Cabinet fumes at hike in flour price

ISLAMABAD: Expressing displeasure at the common man’s difficulty in getting bread at a rate suiting his pocket, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday directed the authorities concerned to control the flour price in order to ensure availability of bread at an affordable rate.

Chairing a cabinet meeting here, Prime Minister Khan directed the Ministry of National Food Security and provincial governments to ensure availability of wheat and bread at the controlled price.

The cabinet also approved exemption of Gwadar Port from taxation. The prime minister took notice of dengue outbreak in the country and impressed upon the relevant authorities that efforts should be maximized to control the virus.

Briefing the media on the federal cabinet decisions, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said the cabinet was given a detailed briefing on the spike areas of dengue, relevant data and the steps being taken to overcome it.

The prime minister directed the Ministry of National Health to also provide all facilities to the provincial governments in this regard. The federal cabinet also approved the first ever e-commerce policy of the country. Dr Awan said the meeting considered the rising trend of e-shopping and expanding reach of smart phones in the country.

The prime minister directed a roadmap for rules, regulations and basic structure of e-commerce be planned. He also urged the Pakistan Halal Food Authority to hold meetings with various stakeholders and industry representatives in this area.

The prime minister was also briefed on the performance of Pakistan Citizen Portal. He was informed that more than 11, 73,000 citizens had registered with this application and more than amillion complaints had been disposed of successfully.

PM Khan also directed the launch of "Mera Bacha Alert" application to effectively curb unpleasant incidents of abduction and disappearance of children in the country.

The application will be launched within two weeks. The details of registration of data on this application will be immediately accessible to the inspector generals and other senior officers of the provinces.

"Mera Bacha Alert" application will be connected with the Pakistan Citizen Portal. The prime minister apprised the cabinet in detail of his visit to the UN, his meetings with various heads of government and state, and other stakeholders.

He told the cabinet that he’d interacted with more than 70 personalities and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi held more than 50 meetings.

The agenda of the meetings was to counter the Indian narrative on the situation in the Occupied Kashmir, to expose its black face before the world community and to get the right of self-determination for the oppressed Kashmiris according to UN resolutions.

The prime minister said many of the world leaders had no idea of the facts on the Kashmir situation. The prime minister said his meetings helped the world leaders change the perception they had about Kashmir and India.

Imran Khan informed the cabinet about the combined efforts of Pakistan, Turkey and Malaysia for stopping Islamophobia and their agreement to start a modern English channel to present the true image of Islam to the world.

The channel will also depict dramas, films, culture of the three countries and rich Islamic values and traditions. The cabinet felicitated prime minister for his successful visit to the United Nations, particularly his address at the UN General Assembly in which he highlighted the issue of Kashmir in a very effective manner.