ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet on Tuesday formed an eight-member ministerial committee, headed by Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif, and tasked it with preparation of a roadmap of short- and long-term measures to overcome electricity shortage in the country through efficient mode of generation and conservation.

The cabinet in its weekly meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, relaxed visa restrictions for some countries, aimed at enhancing bilateral trade with Pakistan.

“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed to constitute a high-powered committee to formulate long, medium and short-term strategies on the energy efficiency and conservation measures implementation roadmap proposed by the power division,” said a press release issued by the PM House.

Headed by the defence minister, the committee comprises Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar, Minister for Industries and Production Syed Murtaza Mehmood, Minis­ter for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Min­ister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Law Azam Nazir Tarar, Minister for Infor­m­a­­tion Marriyum Aurangzeb, Minis­ter for Cli­­­­mate Change Sherry Rehman and Minister for Board of Investment Ch. Salik Hussain.

Cabinet relaxes visa restrictions for several countries

The prime minister directed the power division to give a detailed briefing next week regarding power theft and line losses along with a strategy to check it. He also called for launch of effective public awareness campaigns about energy conservation.

Talking about his October 10 visit to Thar, PM Sharif stated cheaper electricity could be produced through Thar coal project. He termed unnecessary delay in the project in the past “not less than a national tragedy”, but said the projects were among his government’s top priorities. He said it would help reduce the country’s $24bn energy import bill.

In another significant decision, the cabinet included Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Rwanda, Belarus and Slovakia to the list of countries whose nationals could be issued business visa for the promotion of bilateral trade relations. It also approved the family visa extension period from one to two years. Besides, it approved the issuance of 30-day non-extendable family visit category single entry visa on travel/asylum/temporary documents verified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Also, the federal cabinet approved the addition of following in Pakistan Online Visa System (POVS): Fields showing address and place of stay of applicants, intended entry port/border/airport, place of work, contact details including sponsor details may be made mandatory. Same fields shall also be made mandatory for private individuals other than CPEC projects. In case of business visa, contact details of the sponsor may be made mandatory.

Land allotment

On the recommendation of the Ministry of Housing and Works, the cabinet approved the allotment of 23-kanal land along Nabha Road to the Supreme Court of Pakistan for its Lahore registry.

The cabinet also endorsed decisions taken by Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) during its meetings on September 30 and October 10.

Besides, the federal cabinet expressing its serious concern over the incident of firing on a school bus in Swat and strongly condemned it, prayed for those martyred in the incident as well as for early recovery of the injured children.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2022