Federal cabinet places Shahzad Akbar, nine others on ECL

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet has approved the placement of 10 names including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shahzad Akbar on the Exit Control List (ECL), citing sources, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

Shahzad Akbar and Barrister Ziaul Mustafa Nasim were among 10 persons who have been placed on the ECL by the federal cabinet, whereas, the government approved striking off 22 names from the no-fly-list.

Eight more names were also included in the list on the advice of the security institutions.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired the session of the federal cabinet today.

The federal cabinet rejected the summary to increase the prices of 35 medicines. The members said that the price of the medicines will not be hiked without the approval of the federal cabinet.

Moreover, the cabinet members approved fixing the minimum Diyat [financial compensation paid to the heirs of the victims in murder cases] up to 30,630 grams of silver. The recently approved worth of the minimum blood money was nearly Rs4.3 million.

A briefing was given to the cabinet members regarding the climate change effects on the country by the concerned ministry. The cabinet members expressed concerns over the rising effects of climate change on Pakistan which are also affecting the resources.

It was urged to include climate change education in the school and college curriculums besides ensuring the enforcement of the climate change policies. It was also urged to devise a plan for rainwater harvesting on the war footing.

It was recommended to launch a pilot project for rainwater harvesting in Islamabad. The federal cabinet constituted a committee headed by Federal Minister Sherry Rehman. The committee will prepare its recommendations for short-term and long-term projects regarding climate change.

The federal cabinet also approved the decisions taken by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) and the Cabinet Committee for Disposal of Legislative Cases (CCLC).