LAHORE – The Federal Cabinet, which met here on Wednesday with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in the chair, took a number of decisions in its 68th meeting; the most important among them being the approval of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project and resigning of the Defence and Defence Equipment Agreement with South Africa.
The Cabinet also expressed its satisfaction over the outcome of recently concluded third round of Strategic Dialogue with the US, as Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi briefed its members in detail on the subject. It also reviewed the status of implementation of its prior decisions. The Cabinet was informed that some of the decisions relating to various ministries that are pending would be implemented shortly after completion of necessary formalities, which include consultations with the foreign countries and other relevant ministries and stakeholders.
Briefing the newsmen about the decisions taken by the Cabinet, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira narrated salient features and significance of the Pak-US Strategic Dialogue as told to the Cabinet members.
Kaira said Pakistan was among five countries out of 184 countries of the world with whom the US was having strategic relations. He said the Dialogue had been upgraded to the Foreign MinisterÂ’s level and political engagement in five sectors had been extended to encompass 13 sectors. He described it a big achievement of the government.
Giving details of the outcome of the Dialogue, the information minister said that the US had assured five-year economic assistance package of $1.5 billion per annum under the Kerry-Lugar Act for socio-economic development of Pakistan besides announcing Security Assistance Package of $2 billion for Pakistan spread over five years.
He said Coalition Support Fund would be expedited, and Pakistan would receive $750 million by the end of November this year. The US will help modernise and upgrade the law-enforcement agencies of Pakistan including supply of necessary equipment, and $125 million had been allocated for the purpose, he added.
Kaira said the US had specified $300 million for Enterprise Fund to promote public-private partnership in Pakistan through corporate investment. He said a steering committee headed by Secretary Foreign Affairs of Pakistan and Ambassador Richard Holbrooke of the US would follow up on decisions of the Dialogue. He said the US was also briefed on the impact of the floods disaster on various sectors.
He said US President Obama, a strong supporter of democracy in Pakistan also met the Pakistani delegation and committed to visiting Pakistan next year besides inviting President of Pakistan to visit his country.
The Prime Minister has directed the Minister of Foreign Affairs to brief the Parliament about the deliberations, Kaira told newsmen.
The Cabinet deliberated upon the forthcoming Pakistan Development Forum (PDF) meeting to be held on November 14-15, 2010, and was told that Pakistan would present its future economic development vision before the prospective donor countries on the occasion, Kaira further told reporters. He, however, made it clear it was not a DonorsÂ’ Conference in which the participating countries were supposed to make commitments for support.
The Cabinet agreed with the Prime MinisterÂ’s vision that efforts be made in the Forum to have access to the international markets for the Pakistani goods to reduce dependence on assistance in future.
Talking about other decisions taken by the cabinet, he said that it accorded approval, in principle, to the draft MoU on Cooperation between Naif Arab University For Security Sciences (NAUSS), KSA and National Defence University (NDU), Pakistan.
The Cabinet approved in principle the draft Land Surveying and Mapping Bill 2010 and referred it Law and Justice Division for vetting. It also accorded approval to the re-signing of the agreement concerning “Defence and Defence Equipment” with South Africa for a period of five years.
The Cabinet also gave approval for signing of agreements between the Government of the State of Qatar and the Government of Pakistan.
To a question about TAPI gas pipeline agreement to import gas from Turkmenistan, the minister said Pakistan neither accepted any foreign pressure in respect of Iran Gas Pipeline Project nor will it do so in case of TAPI agreement on gas import.
A draft Bill for regulating Hajj, Umra and Ziarat also came under discussion, and was referred to a Cabinet Committee which would include Ministers for Religious Affairs, Tourism and Law and Justice. The Cabinet observed that at present tourism laws do not cover the specific problems of the pilgrims who have to travel abroad to perform religious rituals. The meeting identified certain areas in which the tour operators and the travel agents mislead the pilgrims for which there were no legal remedies to address their grievances.
The Cabinet was briefed by the Secretary, Ministry of Food and Agriculture on the availability of the food items including wheat after the floods. He briefly mentioned about the damages caused to the agriculture sector and the remedies undertaken by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. The Cabinet was further apprised of the Rabi Assistance Package for the supply of free seeds and fertilizers to the farmers in the flood-affected areas. The Cabinet after deliberations decided to refer the matter to Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), which would meet shortly on urgent basis to consider the matter.
Replying to a question, he said that Pakistan would decide the time for launching of military operation in North Waziristan. To another question about imposition of flood tax on the rich as desired by US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, the minister just confined himself to saying that those out of the tax net must be brought under it without stating in categorical terms that government was going to tax them.