-Cabinet approves appointment of Aslam Khan as PIA Chairman
-Draft Public Property Encroachment Bill 2021 also approved
-Info Minister says govt doesn’t see Nawaz, Fazl, Maryam as stakeholders in the current political setup
-Claims PPP, PML-N want to keep expats out of election process
By Ali Imran
ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet on Tuesday gave a go-ahead to the import of one million tonnes of wheat to meet rising demand of the commodity in the country.
Briefing the media on the decisions taken by t0he cabinet in yesterday’s meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan in the chair, Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry said that the approval to import more wheat was given due to the ballooning population.
He said the meeting approved the appointment of Aslam Khan as the chairman of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). It deferred its decision on issuance of prohibited arms licences and appointment of the CEO of the Sukkur Electric Power Company, he added.
Besides, Fawad said the cabinet approved the draft Public Property Encroachment Bill 2021 and appointment of the executive director of the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission.
He said the government will bring in a new law to remove encroachments from its pricey properties.
Fawad Chaudhry claimed on that the “PPP and PML-N are fearful of overseas Pakistanis”.The minister, addressing a news conference, said that overseas Pakistanis did not trust the PPP and the PML-N leadership.Chaudhry spoke about the overseas Pakistanis and the impediments in the electoral reforms in a press conference after a cabinet meeting.
“Electoral reforms are pending due to the problems being faced regarding the right to vote for overseas Pakistanis,” said the minister. He added that people residing abroad should have the right to vote as they send over Rs1 trillion in remittances to Pakistan.The minister also credited overseas Pakistanis for being the main reason for Pakistan’s growth. “PML-N and PPP want to keep overseas Pakistanis out of the election process, “alleged Chaudhry, accusing the two parties of trying to ensure overseas Pakistanis didn’t get the right to vote.The information minister said overseas Pakistanis do not trust Zardari, Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif, adding that they had complete trust in Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Chaudhry also slammed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for objecting to the proposed election bill. The minister said that the ECP cannot raise questions over the Parliament’s decisions, noting that the commission’s job is to implement the law approved by the Parliament. “If someone wants to do politics then they must leave ECP and form a political party. Parliament is supreme, ECP should respect the privileges of the Parliament,” said Chaudhry.
The MNA also claimed that it is the political leadership’s job to decide the process for elections, not the ECP. He added that parliament will figure out the process to hold elections.The minister also claimed that the ECP was represented in a committee headed by the President. He said that the ECP should make arrangements for electronic voting.
“We possess the ability to develop electronic voting machines,” said Chaudhry.
The minister also chided former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on the issue of electoral reforms.
Chaudhry said that the government does not consider the three leaders as “stakeholders” when it comes to discussing electoral reforms.“Parliamentary leaders should sit with us and discuss electoral reforms. People in Parliament should talk about electoral reforms,” stressed the information minister. He also made it clear that the electoral reforms can only be discussed with the parties in Parliament.
