Federal cabinet to deliberate upon budget approval as opposition threatens protest campaign

The cabinet will also discuss the $21 billion agreements and MoUs with Qatar.

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Tuesday is scheduled to preside over a meeting of the federal cabinet in Islamabad to examine a 15-point agenda, including the anti-government protest campaign being planned by the opposition parties.

Reportedly, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led federal government will analyse what the opposition has been calling to call ‘all-parties conference’ (APC) against the government for a joint protest, and the ‘much anticipated’ resistance against the passing of the budget for the next fiscal year 2019-20.

Besides, the meeting is expected to discuss in detail the $21 billion agreements and memorandum of understandings (MoUs) to be signed with Qatar, ahead of its Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani’s visit to Pakistan.

Moreover, the cabinet is anticipated to examine the establishment and patronage of the High-Powered Inquiry Commission.

According to sources, the cabinet will also be briefed about the Ehsas programme and the Visa NOC Liberalization Policy.

The meeting will also discuss the progress of the asset scheme, and the approval of the Pak-Iran Maritime Search and Rescue Agreement.

The appointment of a private member of the Railway Board will be approved.

Furthermore, the cabinet will also be briefed over the verified cases of theft by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

The cabinet is also expected to approve the signing of agreements between the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) and the University of New Mexico, and between the Pakistan Industrial Technical Assistance Centre and the Chinese University Jiangsu.

Job regularisation of staff members, who have been working in electricity distribution companies, will also be discussed in the meeting.

The cabinet is also scheduled to approve delayed contracts with several countries along with the implementation of decisions of cabinet meetings, and will later be briefed over the progress on the implementation of decisions which had been already taken by the federal cabinet [in the previous meetings].

The cabinet will review the overall current political and economical situation of the country.

The opposition parties seem to have accelerated their preparedness, and formation of a joint strategy for giving a ‘real tough time’ to the government.

Yesterday, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) chief Fazal-ur-Rehman held separate meetings with PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly (NA) Shehbaz Sharif.

The recent political strife between the opposition and the government has gained new heights following the arrests of PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, his sibling Faryal Talpur and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader and the Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in different corruption cases.

The meetings were scheduled to examine and focus on time, place and the agenda of the ‘all-parties conference’ (APC) that is being anticipated to be held in the last week of this June.