ISLAMABAD: Science & Technology Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said on Tuesday that the federal cabinet has decided to conduct forensic audit of 10 loss-making entities.
Addressing a press conference along with Industries & Production Minister Hammad Azhar in Islamabad, he said that Pakistan Railway, Sui Southern Gas Pipeline Ltd and Pakistan International Airlines were among enterprises that were incurring losses, adding that their audit would be completed by June 30 this year.
“As many as 51 out of 85 loss-making state-owned enterprises have become profitable due to the prudent policies of the government,” he claimed.
Fawad said Prime Minister Imran Khan was personally monitoring the prices of essential commodities and that all possible steps were being taken to provide relief to the common man.
“When Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) came to power, the economy was in shambles, but the government took calculated measures to protect the poor segments of the society from the effects of inflation and price hike,” he noted. “Utility Stores Corporation, which was ruined by the previous regimes, will finally become profitable by the end of the year only due to efforts of the present government.”
The minister said that the cabinet has expressed its concern over the increasing incidents of coronavirus and hoped that Pakistan would handle the third wave the same way it had handled the first two waves.
“The pandemic had played havoc with the health systems and economies of many developed countries, but Pakistan, due to timely action and effective policies, has been successful in saving the lives and livelihood of the people.”
During the cabinet meeting, Fawad said, the prime minister had highlighted the issue of transparency in the electoral system. “PTI had two important points in its manifesto, which included accountability and transparency in elections,” he stressed.
As per the IT minister, the PM directed the officials concerned to introduce electronic voting system, besides ordering a weekly briefing in this regard. “There ate some political forces that will always dispute the election process but the government wants to ensure transparency for the satisfaction of the general public.”
Meanwhile, the minister said that the cabinet has approved a proposal for the appointment of Raja Mazhar as managing director of the National Book Foundation. It also approved to end the ban on the issuance of prohibited and non-prohibited bore licences of arms by approving the comprehensive licence policy.
Fawad said the cabinet also discussed the issue of improper use of petroleum companies’ CSR. “Rules have now been changed and the petroleum minister has been authorized to monitor the entire process of CSR utilisation.”
Moreover, he said the cabinet approved the proposal of issuing smart cards to registered Afghan refugees, adding that this decision was part of the PM’s policy of providing relief to the poor people.
The cabinet was informed that 400,000 new gas connections have been given so far this year, against the target of 600,000 for the current fiscal year. The next year’s target would be 1.2 million new gas connections.
On a query, the minister said tax exemption was granted on auto-disable syringes to prevent spread of various diseases.
