Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Tuesday said that a special meeting of the cabinet has been convened today (Wednesday) to further discuss the Assets Declaration and Amnesty Scheme 2019. Speaking at a press conference after a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan, he said the cabinet was unable to fully discuss the scheme, there was room for further discussion, which is why the Prime Minister called a special meeting on Wednesday (today).
He said the government is planning to make Pakistan Steel Mills profitable again on the basis of public-private partnership. "Steel Mills used to be a profitable entity up until the Zardari government came into power, they were the ones who drove it into the ground. Now six major international companies are interested in helping us run the project," he said.
"The Mill's current capacity is 1.1 million tonnes that will be increased to 3 million tonnes. The country's total need is 9 million tonnes at the moment, so there is still ample room for improvement. We will ensure that the business of private steel mill owners is not affected in any way," he further contended. Chaudhry said that Prime Minister Imran Khan will launch the first phase of Apna Ghar Housing Scheme on Wednesday (today). "The first phase will facilitate the creation of 135,000 houses," he added.
He added that the cabinet discussed the National Testing Service and various complaints against it. Public Service Commission would be revamped and jobs at the lowest levels would also be on the basis of merit rather than through the "previously used quota system". The minister said that there would be no inflation if Sharif and Asif Zardari families return the looted money.
He said the cabinet has also approved to amend the Pakistan Penal Code for the extradition of those Pakistani citizens from abroad, especially from European countries, who are wanted by Pakistani courts. He said that it is an effort to bring back people like Altaf Hussain, Ishaq Dar, Hussain Nawaz, and Hassan Nawaz.
He said that the cabinet has expressed great reservations over recent cases of money laundering. "These cases of money laundering will be brought to logical conclusion," he added. Chaudhry said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has assured the federal cabinet and the nation that the government's crackdown against terrorists will continue and the menace of terrorism will soon be eliminated.
He went on to say that the government is fast moving on implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP). He said external factors are involved in terrorist incidents in the country, and the government is close to completely destroy that infrastructure.
The minister said the capacity of Auditor General of Pakistan will be enhanced, and Advisor on Institutional Reforms and Austerity Dr Ishrat Husain has been given the task to present recommendations within two months. He said Lok Virsa has been assigned to establish cultural and media centres at Kartarpur.
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