ISLAMABAD, Jan 17: The cabinet on Tuesday condemned Friday’s US airstrike on the Bajaur Agency and decided that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz would take up the matter with President George W. Bush during his visit to the United Stated starting Wednesday.

This was stated by Information Minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmed while briefing reporters about the meeting which was held with the prime minister in the chair.

Mr Ahmed rejected reported US concerns about Pakistan’s alleged inability to control infiltration into Afghanistan.

Pakistan, he said, was playing an active role in the war against terrorism, but it did not mean that its territorial sovereignty could be violated.

He stressed that Pakistan’s sovereignty should be respected and dispelled the Western media claims that the government had assisted the US in carrying out the airstrike.

The cabinet deferred ratification of the South Asian Free Trade Area (Safta) agreement in a bid to avoid its political fallout on the country’s stand on the Kashmir issue.

The postponement of Safta means that Pakistan is not yet ready to grant India the Most Favourable Nation status. The ratification would automatically grant the MFN status to India.

The cabinet resolved that the country’s irrigation system needed to be improved on priority to ensure optimum availability of water and its efficient utilization. It stressed the implementation of the 1991 Water Accord.

It approved ratification of a Memorandum of Understanding signed with India to establish a communication link between Pakistan’s Maritime Security Agency and India’s Coast Guard.

The cabinet decided, in principle, to initiate negotiations on an agreement with the UAE and France to fight terrorism and organized crime.

It was resolved to start negotiations with the Swiss government on abolition of visa condition for officials of the two governments holding diplomatic or official passports. Ex-post facto approval of MoU on strengthening of cooperation between corporate entities of Pakistan and China in the manufacturing sector was also granted.

The cabinet was told that the government had so far distributed Rs18 billion among the quake victims. It was informed that the Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority was now undertaking the reconstruction process in which Rs150,000 would be provided to every affected household.