A meeting of the federal cabinet presided over by the Prime Minister approved the placement of proposed draft constitutional amendment before the Parliament for merger of FATA with KP instead of presenting the FATA Reforms Bill on Tuesday.
On Saturday, a meeting of NSC endorsed the merger of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after detailed deliberation. The Prime Minister apprised the NSC of his consultations with the leaders of other political parties in the Parliament on the matter which reflected a broad consensus on the merger of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Weighing all the pros and cons, the committee endorsed that FATA will be merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa along with the introduction of the administrative and judicial institutional structures and laws of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Sources said that after the cabinet approval, FATA merger with KP is likely to be introduced in the National Assembly in the ongoing week as Senate session is also expected in the next week for approval of the amendment. The meeting also ratified the decisions of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet taken during in its meetings held on 08-05-2018 and 11-05-2018.
The cabinet meeting also ratified decisions of the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) taken during its meeting on 12-10-2017 and ratified agreement between Pakistan and Bosnia & Herzegovina on cooperation in the sphere of defense industry.
The cabinet approved signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Board of Investment (BOI) and Business France and between Educational Scientific Productive Complex "International of Kyrgyzstan" and Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, in the field of distance education.
The cabinet approved appointment of Ashtar Abbas, D&SJ as Judge, Banking Court-IV, Lahore, repatriation of Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah, Judge Banking Court-IV Karachi to High Court of Sindh and appointment of Ijlal Hyder Memon, D&SJ Tando Muhammad Khan.
The Cabinet approved extension in tenure of Obaid Ahmed Khan, D&SJ as Special Court (Control of Narcotics Substance-II) Karachi for a further period of two years w.e.f. 07-05-2018; it also approved the appointment of former Justice Ch Shahid Saeed as Chairman Copyright Board in IPO-Pakistan.
The meeting approved re-constitution of the board of directors of Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) and granted ex post facto approval to the appointment of chairman PNSC Karachi.
The federal cabinet also approved maximum retail prices of drugs and a proposal for inclusion of various items in the Compulsory Certification Mark Scheme of PSQCA was also approved.
The Cabinet also approved OGRA Gas (Third Party Access) Rules, 2018.
The meeting approved National Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Policy. The cabinet approved signing of agreement for provision of grant facility for USD 14 million to Somalia. The meeting also approved a proposal for creation of Jinnah Visiting Professorship at London School of Economics, reconstitution of Board of Directors, Pakistan Expo Centers (Pvt) Limited and nomination of private sector members for the Board of Directors of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan.
The cabinet was informed that Gilgit-Baltistan Council will be retained as advisory body towards the functions of the federal government. The meeting was also informed that with the devolution of greater administrative and financial powers to the government of Gilgit-Balitistan, all the rights will be available to the citizens in GB as available to the people in other provinces of Pakistan.