If voluntary vaccinations do not increase, SIM cards will be blocked: Fawad

Fawad Chaudhry, the Minister of Information and Broadcasting, said on Tuesday that if volunteer coronavirus inoculations do not increase, the possibility of blocking mobile phone SIMS will be considered.

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry addressing a post-cabinet press briefing in Islamabad, on July 27, 2021.

The information minister, addressing a post-cabinet press briefing in Islamabad, said: “Major cities have been tasked to vaccinate 40% of their eligible population in August, however, the inoculation ratio is still low.”

He said vaccination has been made mandatory in government corporations, In a bid to inoculate maximum people.

The establishment of a “threats assessment committee”

Prime Minister Imran Khan has asked the formation of a “threats assessment committee” to determine whether or not security should be provided to government ministers and other high-ranking officials.

The information minister, addressing a post-cabinet press briefing in Islamabad, said “more money is spent on security for the judiciary than on government representatives”.

According to Chaudhry, the cabinet was given a detailed report on protocol provided to people, which revealed that the president, prime minister, cabinet members, ministers, governors, chief ministers, and other high-ranking government officials spend a total of Rs700 million on their security detail.

According to the minister, security detail costs Rs2,529 million in Punjab and Rs998 million in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The three provinces, except Balochistan, have spent Rs1,400 million on security arrangements for the judiciary.

Kashmir elections

He stated the prime minister belonged to the PML-N, and the party had also nominated the election commissioner, when speaking about the July 25 Azad Jammu and Kashmir elections. “How can [they] claim there was rigging?”

The information minister said, “The PML-N leaders were addressing a press conference while sitting in the AJK prime minister’s office; they should accept their humiliating defeat,”.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered an immediate investigation into the deaths of two PTI workers during the July 25 elections, as well as the arrest of the murderers as soon as possible.

According to the minister, the cabinet also prayed for the forgiveness of four soldiers who were martyred while fulfilling their duties during the elections after a vehicle of the military’s Quick Reaction Force (QRF) fell into a ravine in Laswa near Neelum Valley.

The federal cabinet members congratulated Prime Minister Imran Khan on the PTI’s victory in the Kashmir polls, as per the information minister.

The prime minister appreciated federal ministers Ali Amin Gandapur and Murad Saeed, as well as Shehryar Khan Afridi, the chairman of the Kashmir Committee, for a successful election campaign in AJK.

Cybersecurity policy

After it was revealed that India had employed NSO Group’s spyware to target PM Imran Khan’s phone number, the federal cabinet approved the National Cyber Security Policy 2021 for data security and cybercrime prevention, according to the minister.

Fawad said the policy has been introduced keeping in view the improved significance of the cyber regime. Fawad said the rule has been introduced keeping in view the enhanced significance of the cyber regime.

He claimed that the federal government had cleared all private television channels’ arrears, but that despite getting payment, certain media companies were not paying their staff.

The federal cabinet also approved, for the first time in Pakistan, digital advertisement. “In a first, the Press Information Department will be shifted to a digital format and become paperless.”

Fawad said the cabinet has approved a policy allowing Pakistanis to possess dual nationality if they also choose to be citizens of the Czech Republic.

It also approved a new policy for foreign investment in Pakistan, to provide security to international investors and reducing international litigation related to bilateral agreements signed by Pakistan.

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