Govt to unveil corruption-free Ramazan Package soon: PM  

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the government would unveil the Ramazan Relief Package this year sans Utility Stores’ role to prevent corruption and the distribution of low-quality commodities to the people.

“As the Holy Ramazan is about to start, I have asked the Ministry of National Food Security to bring about a Ramzan Package without Utility Stores to prevent corruption and the sale of low-quality material. I had asked many months ago that this cannot go on with the Utility Stores,” the prime minister said in his televised opening remarks at the meeting of the federal cabinet chaired by him.

He told the cabinet members that last year, the government had received immense complaints about the execution of the Ramazan Package by the Utility Stores. Therefore, the government has devised a solution to provide the facility minus the Utility Stores.

About the launch of the polio vaccination drive, he mentioned the killing of a policeman Abdul Khaliq in Jamrud who was deployed on the security of the polio team and paid tribute to his sacrifice to make Pakistan a polio-free nation.

He also lauded the services of PM’s Coordinator on Health Dr Mukhtar, Polio Coordinator Dr Ayesha Farooq, secretary health and polio vaccinators for their tireless efforts to rid the country of this crippling disease.

Apprising the cabinet members of his Quetta visit on Monday, the prime minister said he visited the hospital to inquire after the security personnel who were injured in an anti-terror operation in Kalat in which 18 security personnel were martyred and 23 terrorists were eliminated.

The prime minister expressed pleasure over the inflation coming down to a nine-year low at 2.4% from 28.73% on a month-to-month basis.

He told the cabinet members that on Monday, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sent a delegation to Pakistan and both sides signed an agreement under which the Kingdom would provide oil worth annual $1.2 billion on deferred payment.

He said that the entire nation would observe Kashmir Solidarity Day on Wednesday to express solidarity with their Kashmiri brethren.

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Prime Minister Shehbaz also lauded the approval of agricultural income tax by all four provinces as per the IMF condition and thanked the chief ministers, President Asif Ali Zardari, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, and Mian Nawaz Sharif for their support in this regard.