Cabinet refuses to remove Maryam’s name from ECL

The federal cabinet on Tuesday decided not to remove the name of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz from the exit control list (ECL). “The cabinet has unanimously rejected the request for removal of a VIP’s name from the ECL,” Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan told a press conference organised to share the details of the decisions taken by the federal cabinet, which met here with Prime Minister Imran Khan in the chair. She said the cabinet acted on the advice of the subcommittee. “The cabinet on the recommendation of its sub-committee unanimously decided not to remove the name of Maryam Nawaz from the exit control list (ECL),” she said. “However, it excluded eight other names and included four new names in the list maintained by the Ministry of Interior,” she added. The special assistant said a total of 24 cases were brought before the cabinet through an interior ministry summary. She said out of the total 24, it was decided to add four names to the ECL, remove eight names from the list, the decision on eight cases was deferred and the request to remove one name was rejected. “The cabinet unanimously rejected the request to remove the name from ECL of the VIP personality you are inquiring about,” she told reporters, referring to Maryam. She said the cabinet showed consensus on the implementation of ‘one law and uniform law’ throughout Pakistan and endorsed the recommendation of the cabinet sub-committee on ECL, which had opposed the request to strike Maryam’s name off the ECL. To a question, she said the cabinet had decided to remove the name of Nawaz Sharif from the ECL after 216;clear instructions’ from the high court. “The court had recommended that the cabinet remove his (Nawaz’s) name from the ECL and court orders were honoured,” she said, adding that in Maryam’s case, the recommendations of the sub-committee were endorsed. To another question, she said the government’s legal team is still holding consultation on the issue of Judge Waqar Seth. To another query, she said Rana Sanaullah of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz was given bail by the Lahore High Court in a case filed by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF). She said the trial of Rana Sanaullah could not start because of delay due to different reasons and now the hearing of the case will be held on January 4, when the ANF will submit evidence of possessing heroin against him. Briefing media about the decisions taken at the meeting, Dr Firdous said the federal cabinet has approved the formation of Local Government Commission for the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), which will be headed by Member of National Assembly Ali Nawaz Awan. The Local Government Commission will work to keep the capital city clean, maintain its healthy environment and remove garbage, besides monitoring and assessing the situation of municipal services, she said. Dr Firdous said the cabinet ratified the decisions of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) taken during its meeting held on December 12, 2019. She said Hamid Haroon of the Military Lands and Cantonment Boards was appointed senior member Federal Land Commission in grade 22. Similarly, Farrukh Iqbal was appointed chief executive officer and president of First Women Bank, and Irfan Bukhari chief executive officer Exim Bank of Pakistan, she said. The cabinet sent the issue of sale of shares of House Building Finance Corporation to the ECC and decided to take up the issue after the ECC decision, she added. Dr Firdous said the cabinet has formed a sub-committee to consider the names for members for Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, which will be finalized in consultation with the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly. Dr Tauqeer Ahmed, Chief Finance and Accounts Officer, and Muhammad Ayub, Director Legal of Ministry of Information Technology, were appointed members of Board of Trustees, Pakistan Telecommunication Employment Trust. She said the cabinet also approved the reorganization of Executive Committee of Pakistan Sports Board and amendment in its laws. It also approved 11 new members for the committee. The special assistant said the cabinet was told that about 70,992 of the people living along the Line of Control (LoC) came in the direct range of firing across the border from India. The cabinet, she said, approved a special package of Rs 670 million for 13,498 families living along the LoC under the Ehsaas Programme. A ration scheme would be introduced while every married woman in those families would be given Rs 5,000 per month. The package will be reassessed and brought before the cabinet to ascertain exact number of beneficiaries, she added. The cabinet approved appointment of Rear Admiral Zakaur Rehman as General Manager of the Karachi Port Trust and that of Talha Ali Khan as Executive Director Lok Virsa for two years. The re-organization of National Power Parks Management Board was approved. The cabinet allowed a one-time import of finger markers from India for the anti-polio campaign. The World Health Organization (WHO), which has funded the anti-polio campaign, had endorsed the finger markers. The cabinet also approved names of five experts for the Regulation Board of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP). Dr Sania Nishtar briefed the cabinet about the Ehsaas Programme and the introduction of automation and technology to minimize the role of humans in updating the list of beneficiaries, previously prepared through a survey. Dr Firdous said the cabinet also approved reforms in the laws related to sales and income taxes, and customs duties. The prime minister said tax reforms should be done in a way that it could help create jobs and a conducive environment for the businessmen, and reduce poverty. To a question, Dr Firdous said the Capital Development Authority (CDA) chairman told the cabinet that the Christian community was given salaries before the festival of Christmas. It also rejected the proposal to increase the prices of medicines, she added. The cabinet was informed that the proposed levy of taxes of Rs 170 billion was not an increase in taxes but would be done through procedural changes in tax laws, she added. Dr Zafar Mirza told the press conference that the cabinet has approved decrease in the prices of 89 essential and life-saving medicines under its 2018 Medicine Pricing Policy with immediate effect. He said many of the medicines were used in treating heart diseases and blood pressure. Those medicines are part of the essential medicine list under which prices have to be decreased by 10 percent for three years. The government had to increase the medicines’ prices by 15 percent due to devaluation of the dollar last year, he added. He said the prime minister instructed to review the Medicine Pricing Policy within two months to facilitate the general public. The ministry was in the last stages of formulating a National Medicine Policy for the pharmaceutical sector, which would be announced in the coming weeks, he added.