Says benefits of oil prices cut be passed on to masses; Low-cost electricity from Iran will help develop Balochistan remote areas
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday directed the authorities concerned to ensure that the impact of a reduction in petroleum prices was shifted to the masses in the form of decreased transport fares and prices of eatables.
The prime minister, chairing the meeting of the Federal Cabinet, asked the Interior Ministry and the district administrations across the country to ensure the reduction in commodities’ prices.
Calling for strict action against the profiteers, he said the transport fares and eatables’ prices should be reduced in proportion to the 11 percent decrease in the petroleum prices announced by the government.
Apprising the Federal Cabinet about his visit to Iran on Thursday, the prime minister said Pakistan desired to enhance cooperation with the neighbouring country in multiple sectors.
PM Shehbaz told the meeting that the two sides had agreed to improve the security along the 900-kilometer Pak-Iran border. Both sides had emphasised the joint efforts to counter cross-border terrorism, he added.
The prime minister said the import of low-cost electricity from Iran would help uplift the remote areas of Balochistan.
He further said Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi took a personal interest to ensure the completion of the much-delayed 100MW Gabd-Polan power transmission line within record time.
The project would ensure the power supply to southern Balochistan, particularly Gwadar, the premier remarked.
Similarly, PM Shehbaz said, the Mand-Pishin border marketplace would create employment opportunities for the people on both sides of the border and usher in a new era of development.
Shehbaz Sharif told the cabinet that the Iranian president had expressed special interest in enhancing bilateral trade, besides discuss ing cooperation in the fields of agriculture, science and technology, and solar energy. A high-level delegation led by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto would visit Iran for further deliberations on the said projects.
Briefing the members regarding the Road to Makkah project signed between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, the prime minister said it would help facilitate the pilgrims.
Under the project, around 26,143 Hajj pilgrims would undergo the immigration process at Islamabad International Airport and would be exempted from the lengthy process at Saudi airports. The implementation of the project has been initiated from Thursday, the prime minister said, and expressed the hope that the facility would be extended to Lahore and Karachi airports by next year.
The federal cabinet also approved the establishment of the Insurance Tribunal in Rawalpindi.
It would incur no additional expenses as existing Accountability Court No. 4 would be converted into the Insurance Tribunal.
The federal cabinet endorsed the decisions of the National Security Committee made in its meeting on May 16 and Cabinet Committee on Legislative Cases made on May 11, 2023.
