RAWALPINDI: The Central Cabinet today [June 22] ratified the protocol for the next year under the Pakistan-Ceylon Trade Agreement, 1955.

The Cabinet meeting, which lasted about two hours, was presided over by Khwaja Shahabuddin, the senior-most Minister in the Presidential Cabinet. President Ayub Khan could not attend the meeting as he was slightly indisposed. Central ministers and the Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, participated in the meeting.

The protocol provides that each of the two countries will transact trade worth Rs 30 lakhs and will include some new items for import between the two countries. Pakistan, for instance, will import betel-nuts, conch-shell and some oils tor its pharmaceutical industry from Ceylon while the latter will import newsprint, pharmaceuticals, fish and leather goods from Pakistan.

Some new amendments will be introduced to the State Bank of Pakistan Act.

The Cabinet took this decision in order to enable the Bank to provide payment of interest on deposits held by it other than those of the Government and local bodies and establish and maintain industrial credit facilities.

According to another decision of the Cabinet, compensation will be paid to the nationals of Jammu and Kashmir state whose deposits in the Post Office saving account in the occupied Kashmir have been blocked by India. Fifty per cent of these deposits have already been compensated by the Government and arrangements will now be made for the settlement of the remaining fifty per cent. The total amount to be compensated comes up to about two and a half lakh rupees.

The Cabinet has allowed a Pakistani private firm to establish a jute mill in Malaysia. The mill will be a joint venture of the firm and the Malaysian Government.—Agencies

Published in Dawn, June 23rd, 2017