Federal cabinet okay all govt agencies to allow 50pc imports through Gwadar port

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday welcomed the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) decision to reduce the policy rate by 2 percent, lowering it from 19.5% to 17.5%.

He hoped this move would stimulate exports, investment, business, agriculture, and overall economic growth in the country.

While presiding over a meeting of the federal cabinet committee, the prime minister expressed optimism that the policy rate could gradually decrease to single digits, in line with the country’s inflation rate.

 On the recommendation of the Ministry of Communications, the Federal Cabinet has approved the signing of an MoU between the two countries regarding the issue of commemorative postal stamps on the occasion of the completion of 75 years of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The report of the Cabinet Committee set up by the Ministry of Industry and Production regarding the export of sugar was also presented to the Cabinet. The Cabinet expressed satisfaction that due to a better decision of the cabinet regarding the export of sugar, not only the country got a valuable foreign exchange, but the prices of sugar also remained under control and the sugarcane farmers also got their hard work rewarded.

On the recommendation of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, the Federal Cabinet approved issuing instructions to all government agencies to allow 50 percent of their respective imports such as wheat, sugar, fertilizer to enter the country through Gwadar port.

Earlier, the Prime Minister had issued instructions regarding the development and prosperity of Balochistan province and increasing the operations of Gwadar port that 50 percent of the public sector imports should be brought into the country through Gwadar port. The cabinet directed that the rate of exports from Gwadar port should also be increased in future. In this regard, it was decided to form a sub-committee of the cabinet which will submit the quarterly report of imports and exports from Gwadar port to the cabinet.

The Federal Cabinet approved the reorganization of the Board of Directors of Korangi Fish Harbor Authority, Karachi on the recommendation of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs. The Cabinet directed that all provinces should be represented in such government boards.

The cabinet further directed that the boards of state-owned corporations which are not complete should be completed as soon as possible.

The Federal Cabinet approved the appointment of Muhammad Yaqub, Assistant Director Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, as Federal Inspector Drug Balochistan on the recommendation of the Ministry of National Health.

On the recommendation of the Ministry of Planning, the Federal Cabinet has approved the amendment of the Cabinet Resolution dated October 30, 2013 regarding the appointment of Planning Commission members from the open market. Under this amendment, the pay of Planning Commission members will be fixed in Special Professional Pay Scale-II (SPPS-II) instead of Management Pay Scale.

Moreover, approval was given to fix the salary of the Chief Economist of the Planning Commission, who will be appointed from the open market, in the Special Professional Pay Scale-I (SPPS-I).

The Federal Cabinet approved the Federal Public Service Commission to conduct departmental promotion examinations for the posts of Inspector Inland Revenue (BS-16) on the recommendation of the Revenue Division in the light of the orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

The Federal Cabinet approved the decisions taken in the meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee on 29 August 2024. The Federal Cabinet approved the decisions taken in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Government Owned Enterprises on 2 September 2024.

Speaking on the ongoing discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he claimed that the negotiations were progressing smoothly. He further highlighted that, as in the past, friendly nations had once again committed to assisting Pakistan during this challenging time. With these developments, Pakistan has now met the prerequisites to secure loans from the IMF. “Our friendly and brotherly countries have come all the way to support us again,” he said.

He thanked the ministry of finance, other concerned departments and the ambassador of Pakistan to China who played important role in getting the support from the brotherly countries.

The prime minister stressed that after achieving the goal of macro economic stability, the government will now take measures to boost GDP growth of the country.

As regards the Israel’s continued atrocities over Palestinians, the prime minister demanded the global community to stop Israel from doing war crimes in Palestine.

Condemning the Israel’s barbarism in strong words, the prime minister said that today, the Israeli forces had killed six staff members of United Nation relief mission in Palestine while it also martyred 17 more Muslims in Gaza.

Reporter: Awais Kiyani