The federal cabinet on Monday deferred the hike in gas prices and instructed the authorities concerned to further mull over the decision, citing sources.
The federal cabinet has stopped the implementation of the prescribed hike in gas prices and deferred the decision of the Economic Coordination Committee.
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar chaired the federal cabinet session and took key decisions. Several decisions taken by the ECC were not taken into consideration in the federal cabinet session.
However, the cabinet members approved to exclude Pakistan Steel Mills from the privatisation list. During the session, the Hajj and Umrah Regulation Bill 2023 was approved. A briefing was given to the cabinet members by the Caretaker Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Aneeq Ahmed.
It was told that the Hajj quota for Pakistanis is 179,210 as per approved by Saudi Arabia. The private and government Hajj quota will be fixed at 50% each. The ministry will start accepting Hajj applications from mid-November.
In another decision, the cabinet approved the establishment of the anti-human smuggling station. The special police station will be established by the Federal
Investigation Agency. A briefing was also given on the repatriation of illegally residing immigrants from across the country. It was told that the orders for repatriation of illegal immigrants were issued to all provinces under the Foreign Act 1947.
