ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet has formed a new committee to look into the report of the Faizabad sit-in inquiry commission and recommend further action.

The inquiry commission, set up on the directions of the Supreme Court, had submitted its report last month in which no individual was held responsible for the sit-in and the subsequent violence as the poli­ce attempted to clear the demonstration.

The findings even irked the apex court, which said the report was “replete with clichés, platitudes, and homilies, often as a substitute for substance”.

The cabinet members, in the meeting on Tuesday, expressed similar disapproval of the report, said a press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, “expres­sed dissatisfaction” over the report and said the commissions “had not adhered to its Terms of Reference”.

The special cabinet committee will submit its recommendations on the matter, said the statement.

Earlier, the attorney general submitted the report in the meeting and gave a detailed briefing to the members.

The cabinet also adopted a condolence resolution on the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and other officials in a helicopter crash.

The meeting also approved duty and tax exemption on the equipment donated to Balochistan police by the Guangdong Public Security Department of China.

However, under the Federal Excise Tax, 2005, the excise duty would be imposed on these items.The cabinet directed that in future, such donations and grants would be exempted from taxes.

The meeting also approved an MoU signed with the United King­dom to hand over three Pakistanis wanted in criminal cases.

The Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFSR) also presented the National Livestock Breeding Policy, 2022. The cabinet directed the minister to submit it again after consultations with the private sector.

EAC meeting

Later the PM presided over the first meeting of his Economic Advisory Council (EAC) in which he expressed satisfaction over the economy.

He claimed the government was working to provide facilities for the private sector for economic development, job creation and investment.

The PM said his government’s policies have resulted in the slow down of inflation rate and steps were being taken to pass on the effects to the masses.

The positive trends in the stock market “reflected trust of the business community and investors in the government’s policies”, the PM said, adding more facilities would be provided to foreign investors and business communities in the next budget.

The prime minister said the tax burden on general population would be reduced to increase the number of tax filers.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2024