Cabinet approves hike in gas tariff on IMF demand

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet on Thursday approved the hike in gas tariff to meet International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) conditions, ARY News reported citing sources.

According to sources, the hike in gas tariff which was approved by the federal cabinet will be effective from February 1, 2024.

The Federal Cabinet also approved the appointment of Syed Tariq Muhammad ul Hassan as Managing Director Pakistan Baitul Maal.

The decision was taken on the recommendation of Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and social security, according to a press release issued by the Prime Minister House Media Wing.

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar presided over the meeting of the cabinet.

On the recommendation of the Ministry of Commerce, the cabinet approved the transit/transfer of vehicle spare parts and new tires used by the Afghanistan Country Office under the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) from Karachi Port to Kabul, Afghanistan.

Read more: OGRA jacks up gas tariff by 35.13 percent on IMF demand

The cabinet was informed that such imports and their transfer to Afghanistan are prohibited to prevent smuggling in the country, however, under the United Nations Development Programme, the said spare parts and tires will be used by the United Nations and not for commercial use.

In this regard, Additional Deputy Commissioner Islamabad was appointed as an inquiry officer, who after investigation concluded that the accused was involved in terrorism and other illegal activities. According to this information, the federal cabinet approved the handing over of the accused to the Norwegian government.

Similarly, the cabinet on the recommendation of Ministry of information and Broadcasting, allowed the Pakistan Television Corporation to make payments to foreign broadcasters for the broadcasting rights of sports events.

The cabinet gave its assent to the decisions made in a meeting of the federal cabinet on energy on February 6, 2024.

Besides it also approved the decisions of cabinet committees on legislative cases and privatization held on February 7, 2024.

The meeting also approved the decisions made in the Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet on February 7, and February 14, 2024.