Daily Times

The federal cabinet on Tuesday welcomed the verdict of Islamabad High Court on the sugar inquiry case and reaffirmed the government’s resolve to bring the sugar barons, who had earned undue profit, to book.

Briefing media about the cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz said the cabinet directed that actions on the recommendations of sugar inquiry commission should be carried out as per the stipulated timelines given to relevant institutions. The step, he said, will bring improvement and transparency in whole value chain of sugar production from purchasing of the sugarcane to marketing of the sugar.

He said the process of determining the sugar price will be visible in next three months as the government has revamped the entire network of institutions responsible for monitoring and regulation of the sugar industry. It will result in the provision of commodity to the people at reasonable rate and help make recoveries from those who exploited the system for minting money at the cost of consumers, he added.

Shibli said the cabinet also expressed concern on the rising prices of flour and endorsed the prime minister’s directive for rectification of the situation by corrective steps, including release of nine million tons of wheat by the Punjab government and control of its smuggling. He said a committee under Advisor to PM on Finance Abdul Hafeez Shaikh has been constituted to monitor the situation, besides streamlining and making the matters relating to the wheat and flour more transparent. The prime minister directed the committee to determine the demand and supply of flour on scientific basis with collection of complete data.

The minister said the import of wheat has been allowed to keep its prices stable as 25 million tons of the commodity is available in the country against the requirement of 27 million tons.

He said the federal cabinet appreciated the performance of Ministry of Education for introducing a uniform curriculum for all the educational institutions in the country, including religious seminaries. The cabinet, he said, also discussed the online education by utilizing modern technologies in the post-coronavirus outbreak situation. Prime Minister Imran Khan emphasized on making the facility available in far flung areas of the country, especially Balochistan where the availability of internet is an issue. The prime minister directed that the IT fund should be utilized for the benefit of the people of Balochistan as they deserved similar facilities as enjoyed by the rest of Pakistan, the minister added.

Shibli Faraz said the prime minister is determined to improve the health system in the country. The cabinet gave approval for a new teaching hospital, which would be built on modern lines. He said Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar and Special Assistant to the PM on Health Dr Zafar Mirza gave a detailed briefing to cabinet on the prevalent Covid-19 situation.

It was told that in a short span of time, the number of laboratories for coronavirus testing has reached 129 from mere two at the start of the pandemic, while the testing capacity increased to 50,000 tests per day from initial 472, which will reach 150,000 per day by the end of July.

The minister said total 770 hospitals were catering to the coronavirus patients across the country. Some 8,886 oxygenated beds are available in the country, out of which 2,671 are occupied, while 2,150 more beds will be added next month. He said the federal government is very clear from day one on how to take steps to overcome the challenge of coronavirus. The prime minister has the vision to run the wheel of economy to save the vulnerable segments of the society from hunger and starvation, and to protect the lives of people. Citing the examples of India and Brazil, Shibli Faraz said both the countries suffered immensely due to their extreme strategies to counter the disease.

On the contrary, he said, the Pakistani government, despite having limited resources, adopted the best strategy keeping in view the ground realities to tackle the situation.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government disbursed a huge amount under the Ehsaas Cash Emergency Programme among vulnerable families and protected them from starvation.

He said the opposition found fault with the government’s handling of coronavirus and called for imposing a strict lockdown as they have stashed billions of rupees in their accounts abroad but Imran Khan has no foreign accounts and properties. The prime minister is leading the nation from the front and he has sacrificed his luxurious lifestyle for the purpose, he added.

Shibli Faraz said the cabinet also discussed measures how to tackle the situation on the occasion of Eidul Azha. He also appreciated the role of media in the testing times for the creation of awareness among the masses despite facing many challenges. He said the credit for success against the coronavirus also went to the masses, especially the medical professionals who were the frontline soldiers in the war against the deadly disease.

The cabinet deliberated on the optimum use of the properties of Evacuee Trust Property Board. It was informed that its properties were leased out on minimal rates or they were occupied by the land mafia. The PM issued directives for digitalization of its land record.

Replying to questions, Shibli Faraz said as far as investigations into wrongdoings are concerned, it does not matter that those involved in them belong to the party or otherwise. The prime minister knew who are involved in the sugar or flour business before he ordered investigations into the crises pertaining to the two commodities, and no attempt was made to save the skin of anyone belonging to the ruling party. The outcome of the investigations, he said, is a great achievement of the PTI government as no such thing had occurred in the past. The people had voted the PTI to eliminate the deep-rooted mafias and it was for the first time that a government has taken them head-on, he added.

About certain remarks by Minister for Climate Change Zartaj Gull on some matters gone viral on the social media, Shibli maintained it was a slip of tongue. She (Zartaj) is an outstanding minister and doing her job well, he added.

As regards the Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme, Shibli said the entire exercise is based on data of National Database Registration Authority and there is no discrimination or political elements’ involved in the cash disbursement among the deserving people.

The minister cautioned that the cabinet was informed that the coming weeks would be very tough in the wake of coronavirus pandemic. Given the country’s population, increasing the number of hospital beds to 10 million will not be enough as the only way to avoid such situation was to follow the standard operating procedures and adopt social distancing by the people. The government, he said, is doing its best to strike a balance between ensuring economic activity and prevention of spread of the virus. Using technology, the government was resorting to smart lockdowns and sealing hotspots.

Shibli Faraz said the prime minister will talk to ministers with timelines in relation to the tasks assigned to them and their targets. He contended that the prime minister is mindful of the challenge and the media should also create more awareness among the public to follow the SOPs. He lauded its role with regards to the virus and desisting from spreading confusion and sensationalism.

Shibli said the permission for import of wheat was given in view of about 5 to 6 per cent shortage in meeting its domestic requirement, and to discourage its hoarding, smuggling and artificial shortage. He noted that the Ministry of Education would have to make consultations with the stakeholders for a formula in relation to the educational institutions by next week.

The minister said three medicines were helpful in some coronavirus cases and some of them have been imported while a local firm will be manufacturing one medicine within two weeks for which a mechanism will be readied within two days.