ISLAMABAD: The Federal Cabinet appealed for the release of 30
Pakistani boys who are being held by the Taliban in Afghanistan, Geo
News reported. The cabinet also demanded that the Afghan government
take steps to secure their release.
The Federal Cabinet meeting
was chaired by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. According to an
official statement, the cabinet strongly condemned the attacks on Dir
and Chitral checkposts and directed security forces to take action
against future border incursions by the Taliban.
The PM also
briefed the Cabinet about his recent visit to Kazakhstan where trade,
energy, eradication of drug trafficking and terrorism were the focus of
talks.
The Prime Minister said that during his discussions with
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and the Prime Minister Karim
Massimov, he expressed his country’s desire to extend relations with
Central Asian Republics which are rich in natural resources and share
with us history and geographical proximity.
The Prime Minister
said that Kazakh Prime Minister vindicated our stated position
that Pakistanwas part of the solution and not the problem. The Cabinet
expressed its condolence over the terrorist attack in Quetta in which
20 people embraced “Shahadat” and dozens sustained injuries. The
Cabinet strongly condemned this terrorist attack and offered condolence
to the bereaved families.
The Cabinet urged the need for
concerted efforts to root out terrorism and extremism in all its forms
and manifestations, adding that victory will be achieved by rooting out
of the scourge of terrorism effectively.
The Cabinet also
expressed its serious concern over the infiltration of Afghan Taliban
into Pakistan in Dir and Chitral border check posts. The Prime
Minister informed the Cabinet that security apparatus has been directed
to take all necessary steps to check the re-occurrence of such
abhorrent incident. The Cabinet also condemned the abduction of
innocent children from Bajour Agency and asked the Kabul Government to
get the innocent children freed soon.
The Cabinet discussed
the devastation caused by the torrential rains in the interior
of Sindh, law and order situation in Karachi and the reports of Dengue
fever. The Cabinet directed the law enforcement agencies to take stern
action against the criminals across the board regardless of their
political affiliation, if any.
The Cabinet was briefed by the
Minister of Interior about the endeavour of the provincial Government
of Sindh, law enforcement agencies, police and the assistance of the
Ministry of Interior.
The Cabinet endorsed the efforts of the
Sindh Government, law enforcement agencies, police and the Ministry of
Interior. The Cabinet further decided that peace in Karachi should be
restored on durable basis.
The Cabinet was informed that all
possible help and relief is being extended to the flood victims both by
the Federal and Provincial Governments. The Prime Minister said that he
personally visited the flood affected areas and discussed relief
measures with Speaker, National Assembly and the Provincial Chief
Minister.
The Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister
briefed the Cabinet about the measures taken by the Federal Government
and its agency NDMA which has already provided 28000 tents and
sufficient quantity of food stuff and medicines.
The Prime
Minister directed that the Chairman, NDMA and Principal Secretary to
the Prime Minister should coordinate the relief efforts with the Chief
Secretary of Government of Sindh and ensure that the provision of
relief goods is made available to the affectees at the nearest
place. The Prime Minister informed the Cabinet that he has already
asked the Provincial Chief Minister to donate Rs 02 crore by each Chief
Minister to the Sindh Government as a token of expression of solidarity
with the Provincial Government and the flood victims.
The
Prime M inister apprised the Cabinet that the whole focus at present is
on the provision of relief goods to the victims and their
rehabilitation could take place in due course.
The Cabinet
appreciated the decision to set up a Parliamentary Committee headed by
the Chief Whip Syed Khurshid Shah, Minister for Religious Affairs,
which has been mandated to formulate a comprehensive strategy to submit
its recommendations to the Parliament to address the prevailing serious
situation in Karachi and Balochistan.
The Prime Minister
assured that full support will be extended to the Parliamentary
Committee to facilitate its deliberations on very important subjects
of immense national importance.
The Chairman of the
Parliamentary Committee informed the Cabinet that first meeting of the
Committee will be held on September 12 in which Balochistan issue will
be taken up.
The Cabinet reviewed the implementation status of
its earlier meeting pertaining to States and Frontier Regions and
Statistics Divisions. It was informed that majority of the decisions
have been implemented while the remaining are under process of
implementation. The Cabinet gave its approval to the decisions taken
by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet in its
meeting held on 23rd August, 2011. Online
