Govt ratifies ME Green Initiative charter

ISLAMABAD:

The federal cabinet on Thursday ratified the charter of the Middle East Green Initiative that would enable restoration of 200 million hectares of land and plantation of 50 billion trees.

The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a PM Office news release said.

During the meeting, the officials of the Ministry of Climate Change informed the forum that Pakistan was among the founding members of the Charter and, therefore, the ministry had recommended the forum to accord its approval.

The cabinet approved the Off-the-Grid Captive Power Plants Levy Ordinance 2025 on the recommendation of the Petroleum Division.

The forum was briefed on the statement made in parliament in 2020 regarding the pilots of the Pakistan International Airlines.

The meeting was informed that the statement made by a former federal minister regarding the pilots was irresponsible and exaggerated, which not only severely affected the image of the country and the national airline, but also caused serious damage to the national exchequer.

The cabinet approved the formation of a fact-finding committee to review the said statement, which would probe motives behind it and also estimate the loss caused to the national airline.

The cabinet approved the agreement between the Government of Pakistan and the European Union on the recommendation of the Ministry of Commerce regarding the distribution of tariff rates quota.

The cabinet approved the reorganisation of Accountability Court-III, Islamabad and its conversion into Special Court (CNS-III), Islamabad, on the recommendation of the Islamabad High Court and the proposal of the Ministry of Law and Justice.

The cabinet also approved the additional charge of Chairman Karachi Port Trust, Rear Admiral Habib-ur-Rehman, for a maximum of two months.

Prime Minister Shehbaz directed to complete the process of appointing a regular Chairman of Karachi Port Trust immediately.

The cabinet approved a 25 per cent reduction in the provincial quota in medical and dental colleges managed by the federal government. The initiative was taken in the context of extremely low quota for students domiciled in the Islamabad Capital Territory in provincial medical and dental colleges so that students domiciled in Islamabad could get better opportunities for education in such institutions.

The cabinet, on the recommendation of the Rightsizing Committee of the federal government, has approved an amendment to the Rules of Business, 1973 regarding the merger of the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan and the Ministry of Frontier Affairs.

The cabinet has ratified the decisions taken in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on State-Owned Enterprises held on January 17, 2025.

The cabinet also ratified the decisions taken in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Legislative Cases held on December 17, 2024 regarding amendments to the Citizenship Act, 1952.