PM chides ministers over Pemra row after Firdous grouse – Newspaper

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan rebuked some federal ministers and senior leaders of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday for his statements against the recent move by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) to prevent television presenters from appearing as "experts" on their own channels and on others.

In chairing a meeting of the federal cabinet, the prime minister expressed his resentment for the tweets of the Minister of Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry, the Minister of Human Rights, Dr. Shireen Mazari, and MNA Asad Umar against the Perma measure and warned them that Do not criticize government decisions "openly." .

"In fact, the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Information, Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan, filed a complaint with the Prime Minister that Fawad Chaudhry, Shireen Mazari and Asad Umar had made comments through their tweets against the government's decision," said a meeting participant. Dawn on condition of anonymity. He said the prime minister was of the opinion that "government ministers should not have discussed these issues openly."

Faced with this, Fawad Chaudhry told the Prime Minister that Pemra had not made the decision properly, inviting criticism from the government.

The Pemra movement has raised controversy even in the official media and circles.

In his tweet, Asad Umar had said: “An amazing decision by Pemra to stop the presenters to go to any other talk show and express their opinion! Pemra should be doing a better job taking action against completely false news and not suppressing the right of people, including presenters, to express their opinion. ”

The cabinet allows the construction of 50-story buildings in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Multan

Shireen Mazari had tweeted: "Who is an" expert "? An interesting [and] An involuntary debate has been generated, so purely at the non-political academic level: Do I need a degree in politics to be an expert in politics? I don't have a degree in "human rights," so should I go to television to discuss "human rights" issues?

Fawad Chaudhry had described Pemra's directive as "illogical, unnecessary and unnecessary."

High rise buildings

The cabinet allowed four major cities in the country – Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Multan – to have 50-story buildings.

"The cabinet allowed 500-foot-tall buildings, even in the funnel areas (15km radius) of the airports in the four cities," Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan told Dawn after the cabinet meeting.

He said that before there was a ban on the construction of skyscrapers within 15 km of the airports, but now he had relaxed.

However, it was noted that, despite the ban, multi-storey buildings were being constructed in the funnel areas of the airports.

The restriction had already been lifted in Islamabad.

At a press conference following the cabinet meeting, Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan said the prime minister had ordered interested authorities to expedite the process of acquiring assistance from foreign companies to manage the country's airports in a better way under government policies and provide better facilities. to passengers, in addition to generating more income.

The cabinet was informed about the progress in updating and rebuilding the Skardu airport. The meeting authorized the aviation minister to renew the licenses of the airlines and expressed the hope that the decision would facilitate the companies and expedite the renewal process.

National Executive Committee

The meeting approved the formation of the National Executive Committee headed by the Minister of Economic Affairs Hammad Azhar and composed of general directors of Military Operations and Intelligence between Services. The committee will work to control terrorist financing and money laundering under the Money Laundering Act of 2010.

It is for the first time in the country's history that the heads of two highly sensitive military organizations have become members of any national agency in the area of ​​money laundering and terrorist financing.

Dasu hydroelectric project

The cabinet approved the release of the amount of compensation for the land acquired for the construction of the 4320MW Dasu hydroelectric project. The meeting was informed that the government was suffering a loss of Rs330 million daily due to the delay in the construction of the project to be completed this year.

The cabinet also approved the restructuring of the board of governors of Sui Southern Gas Company Limited and the appointment of former State Bank governor Dr. Shamshad Akhtar as a member. Similarly, the new board of governors of Pakistan Liquefied Natural Gas Limited was approved with Rahat Konain as president.

The meeting also approved the restructuring of the board of directors of Government Holding Private Limited, which will be in charge of Aaila Majeed.

The cabinet was informed that a proposal was being considered to reduce the electricity rate for domestic consumers during the current winter so that consumers could meet their energy demands. Current electricity production in the country is 31,000MW.

The meeting was informed that meteorological studies were being established in Lahore to closely monitor the weather with a special focus on smog, which comes mainly from India in winter.

The cabinet approved the appointment of members of the Awarding Authority under the Benami Transaction Act-2017.

Posted on Dawn, October 30, 2019