QUETTA: The Balochistan cabinet on Wednesday approved Pakistan’s first smart city project which will ensure digital security of Quetta city.

A meeting of the cabinet presided over by Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani approved the conversion of Quetta Safe City Project Phase-I into Quetta Smart City Phase-II.

The cabinet exempted the Safe City Project Phase-I from the Public Procurement Rules on the recommendations of the Board of Balochistan Public Procurement Regulatory Authority. The cabinet approved the Right to Information Bill to empower citizens to get information about the performance of the government.

It approved upgrade of 219 school teachers working under the Department of Minerals. The meeting approved by-laws of the Water and Sewerage Authority and asked the authorities concerned to introduce separate by-laws for the drainage system.

The cabinet approved an amendment to the Balochistan Government Rules of Business, 2012. It granted a two-year extension, one-time exemption from sales tax on commission of banks on Ehsas Emergency Cash Transfer.

The meeting exempted from sales tax fundraising by telecom operators for PM Relief Fund and UN World Food Programme for food supplies to Afghanistan through Chaman border. It extended relocation period of the Frontier Corps in Balochistan till December 31, 2020.

The cabinet upgraded the post of assistant director (Statistics) B-17 of the Department of Agriculture to deputy director (Statistics) B-18 on the recommendation of the up-gradation committee. The meeting approved the recruitment of B-16 staff nurses on an ad hoc basis in government hospitals.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2020