Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi today
chaired a meeting of the Federal Cabinet at Prime Minister House.
The meeting ratified minutes of the meetings
of Economic Coordination Committee held on 01 November 2017, 13 November
and 28th November 2017.
Minutes of the meetings of Cabinet Committee
on CPEC held on 09 November 2017 and 17 November 2017 were also ratified by the
Cabinet. The Cabinet accorded permission, in principle, to sign the revised
Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and
Human Resource Development of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Ministry
of Employment and Labor of the Republic of Korea on sending and receiving of workers
under the Employment Permit System. The meeting approved amendment in the
Schedule of FIA Act, 1974. The amendment aims at bringing the offences of
blasphemy and pornography in the ambit of Prevention of Electronic Crime Act,
2016. Observing that the directives issued to PEMRA to off-air and later on-air
transmission of Private TV Channels on 25 Nov 2017 and 26 Nov 2017,
respectively, as policy directives of the Federal government, the meeting
accorded ex-post facto approval to the two directives. The Federal Cabinet
granted ex-post facto approval to the appointment of Mr. Muhammad Arshad Khan
Jadoon as Chairman Implementation Tribunal for Newspaper Employees (ITNE) and
also approved granting of MP-1 scale for him. The appointment has been made for
two years. The Cabinet approved appointment of Mr. Qurban Ali Khan as Member
Technical in Customs Appellate Tribunal (CAT) Peshawar, Mr. Saud Imran Ahmed in
CAT Bench-I Lahore and Dr. Zulfiqar Ahmed Malik in CAT Bench-I Karachi. Resignation
of Mr. Ali Suleman Habib, as Director from PIACL Board, was approved. The
Cabinet approved appointment of Rear Admiral Zaka-ur-Rehman, SI(M) as Director
General Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA). Amendment in the Guidelines
of Prime Minister’s Global SDGs Achievement Programme was also approved. The
meeting also granted ex-post facto approval to the formation of National
Implementation Committee on FATA Reforms. Minister for Defence and Corp
Commander 11 Corp have been included in the high level implementation committee.
The Cabinet approved Medical Devices Rules, 2017 in lieu of Rules, 2015.
Hajj Policy and Plan, 2018 was also presented
before the Federal Cabinet. While deciding not to increase Hajj dues this year
under the Government Hajj Scheme, the Federal Cabinet approved the Policy, in
principal, with certain amendments. Minister for Religious Affairs would hold
Press Briefing to highlight salient features of the Hajj Policy 2018. The
Federal Cabinet also approved amendments in Sales Tax Special Procedure Rules
2007 to provide for (i) allowing exploration and production companies serving
as operators in a petroleum concession area to transfer proportionate input tax
to other working interest owners and (ii) exclusion from extra tax chargeable
under Rule-58T of Sales Tax Special Procedure Rules 2007 on supply of
lubricants to and by lubricating oil marketing companies registered with OGRA
to registered manufacturers for in-house consumption.
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