Cabinet briefed on progress of PIA privatisation
Pakistan
Cabinet briefed on progress of PIA privatisation
ISLAMABAD (APP) – The Federal Cabinet was informed on Friday that the process of privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was on track and several companies were taking keen interest in the airline.
The federal secretary for privatisation briefed the cabinet that the advertisements inviting expressions of interest were published in national and international newspapers on April 2, with the last date being May 3, and so far several companies had expressed keen interest in the PIA.
The meeting of the cabinet was held at the PM’s House under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The cabinet directed to ensure transparency in the privatisation of PIA.
The aviation secretary briefed the cabinet on the recent measures taken to improve the facilities at the airports in Pakistan, particularly Lahore and Karachi. He informed that the service counters at the airports had been increased and further improvement of the facilities was in progress.
On the recommendation of the Ministry of Law and Justice, the federal cabinet approved the establishment of an additional special court in Makran division to deal with anti-narcotics cases in Balochistan province.
The jurisdiction of this special court will extend to the districts of Panjgur, Kech, Gwadar, Hub and Lasbela.
The cabinet directed that judges of good repute be appointed in the special court and the prosecution process be made more effective.
On the recommendation of the SAFRON, the cabinet approved the extension of the validity of proof of registration (POR) cards of Afghan refugees from April 1 to June 30.
The cabinet was told that with this extension, POR card holders would be able to avail schools, bank accounts and other facilities in Pakistan.
These POR card holders will be repatriated in the third phase of the programme of repatriation of illegal foreign nationals residing in Pakistan.
The first phase of repatriation of foreign nationals without any identity documents is in progress.
The meeting was told that the consultation with all stakeholders regarding the drone policy for the use of drone technology in the agriculture sector was in the final stages and would soon be presented to the cabinet for approval.
The cabinet approved the appointment of four ex-officio members of the Board of the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan (ICMAP).
The cabinet also approved the decisions taken by the Cabinet Committee on Legislative Cases on April 18.
