Cabinet Meeting led by PM Khan Approves Tax Immunity for Gwadar Port

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broad-casting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan Tuesday said that the federal cabinet has approved first-ever E-Commerce Policy of the country. Awan while briefing the media persons here after the federal Cabinet meeting said the meeting considered the rising trend of e-shopping and expanding reach of smart phones in the country. She added that the PM also directed the concerned officials to devise a viable roadmap, rules, regulations and basic structure of e-commerce in the country in close consultation with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed to control the price of flour in order to reduce burden on common man and asked the concerned departments to coordinate with provincial governments in this regard. She said the Prime Minister issued directives to Ministry of National Food Security and provincial governments to take steps to avoid shortage of wheat and control the prices of bread. She said the cabinet meeting was held to take 14 agenda items and deliberated on them.

This Policy Framework has following nine policy areas having facilitation, promotion and regulation: (i) e-commerce regulation and facilitation, (ii) financial inclusion and digitization through payment infrastructure, (iii) empowering youth and SMEs through business support programs and trade development, (iv) consumer protection, (v) taxation structure, (vi) ICT infrastructure and telecom services in Pakistan, (vii) logistics, (viii) data protection and investment and, (ix) global connectivity and participation in multilateral negotiations.

The Prime Minister observed that around 64% of Pakistan’s population is under the age of 29 and is thus more open to embrace technology. Furthermore, while appreciating Commerce Division’s efforts to bring forth an e-Commerce Policy Framework, the PM highlighted that Pakistan despite having 161 million cellular subscribers, 70 million 3G/4G subscribers, 72 million broadband subscribers and total teledensity of 76.56%, has not been able to capitalize upon the true potential of its available ICT Infrastructure and, therefore, it was even more important to come up with an e-Commerce Policy Framework of Pakistan.

The Prime Minister underscored that the subject of e-commerce is ever-evolving and Pakistan has taken its first step in the right direction and this policy framework will bear fruits in near future and will prove to be a game changer for Pakistan in the longer run.

The Prime Minister while taking notice of the spread of dengue in the country said efforts should be maximized to control the virus. The meeting was given a detailed briefing on the areas worst hit by dengue, relevant data and the steps being taken to overcome it. The Prime Minister directed the Ministry of National Health to provide all-out facilities to provincial governments in this regard.

Imran Khan also urged the Pakistan Halal Food Authority to hold meetings with various stakeholders and industry representatives to work out in this area for which an intra-ministerial committee has been devised. The Prime Minister was also briefed on the performance of Pakistan Citizen Portal. It was informed that more than 1,173, 000 citizens have registered with this app and more than a million complaints have been disposed of successfully.

The cabinet also approved exemption of Gwadar Port from taxation. Moreover, the PM also directed the officials concerned to create Pakistan Desk or Qauid-e-Azam Desk abroad in the premises of Pakistani foreign educational institutions.

She said that the PM also directed to resolve complaints received on Pakistan Citizen Portal. Moreover all the ministries have been directed to resolve problems being faced by the masses at ministerial level and submit the report to cabinet after every month.

The Prime Minister apprised the cabinet in detail of his visit to the UN, his meetings with various heads of government and state, and other stakeholders. He said he had interaction with more than seventy personalities while the foreign minister also held more than fifty meetings. The agenda of the meetings was to counter the Indian narrative on situation in Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK), expose its black face before the world community and to get the right of self-determination for oppressed Kashmiris according to UN resolutions.

The Prime Minister said many of the world leaders had no idea of the facts on Kashmir situation. His meetings helped them change the perception they had about Kashmir and India. Awan said the ‘Kashmir Mission’ of Prime Minister Imran Khan to the United Nations remained successful as all set targets were achieved through an effective diplomacy.

She said that the PM had around 70 direct or indirect interactions with world leaders, think tanks and international media during his recent visit to the United States. Moreover, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also held 50 meetings.

Imran Khan also informed the cabinet about the combined efforts of Pakistan, Turkey and Malaysia on stopping Islamophobia and their agreement to start a modern English channel to present the true image of Islam to the world. The channel will also depict dramas, films, culture of the three countries and rich Islamic values and traditions.

The cabinet congratulated Prime Minister on his successful visit to the United Nations and particularly his address at the UN General Assembly in which he highlighted the issue of Kashmir in a very potent way.

Responding to a question regarding cabinet reshuffle, she said that the PM has the right to change his team members at anytime and maintained that the PM has disappointed all those wanted to see her removed from the position.