Cabinet hands KP chief minister's powers to governor for emergencies

The federal cabinet has approved the transfer of powers delegated to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister to the province's governor for the duration of an emergency, to run day-to-day affairs.

The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad on Wednesday. The governor will submit a monthly review report to the federal government on how those powers are used, Aaj News reported.

Addressing the meeting, the prime minister ordered strict action against petrol pumps involved in irregularities in the fuel subsidy scheme and against those refusing to cooperate. He said the petroleum minister had been directed to move against such outlets. He also said the era of an LPG mafia was over, and that the government would import LPG and give consumers a subsidy on it.

Sharif said a Rs15 per litre increase in the petrol price had not been passed on to the public. About 15 million people have directly benefited from the fuel subsidy scheme so far, he said, and petroleum supplies are being handled through state companies including PSO and PARCO.

On Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the prime minister said peace in the province was the government's first, second and third priority, and that a Rs160 billion development package had been approved for security there. He said the province's people had made countless sacrifices against militancy and that the government was committed to ending terrorism altogether. Terrorism had been eliminated in 2018 but had raised its head again, he said.

Sharif said the regional situation was affecting Pakistan as well, while the country's efforts for global peace and stability continued. He said Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir had visited Iran and that a meeting of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey was held in Tehran in a cordial and positive atmosphere. He called a successful missile test a moment of pride for the whole nation, and said challenges on maritime routes were being faced while steps continued to meet winter energy demand.

The cabinet ratified a defence cooperation agreement between Pakistan and Kuwait, which was concluded on 11 June 2023. It also endorsed decisions taken at the 26 October meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Government-Owned Enterprises, and decisions of the Cabinet Committee on Legislative Cases at its meetings on 22 January, 26 February, 5, 18 and 27 August, and 11 and 22 September.

In Haripur, the additional assistant commissioner revenue inspected petrol pumps to check implementation of the prime minister's petroleum relief package, UrduPoint reported.