ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday said there had been no let-up in Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts for ending the war between the United States and Iran.
Addressing a federal cabinet meeting here, the prime minister made a special mention of the peace efforts of Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar.
“Field Marshal Asim Munir made day and night efforts, while Ishaq Dar also remained in contact with his counterparts. It goes without saying that Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also contributed a lot in this regard,” he said.
Shehbaz said the ongoing conflict in the Middle East had dealt a serious blow to Pakistan’s economic progress made over the past two years. “The Middle East situation, which impacted our efforts for macroeconomic stability, was not in our control,” he observed.
Shehbaz said he also met with the Iranian foreign minister on Saturday and held a detailed discussion with him.
He said prior to his departure for Russia, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi briefed him over phone that he held discussions with the Pakistani leadership and in Oman with sincerity and would soon come up with a response after consulting his leadership.
Previously on April 11, he said there was a marathon session of talks spanning 21 hours, resulting in a ceasefire, which was still holding.
Talking about the increasing fuel prices, the prime minister said the government would be facing a challenging situation while deciding the new prices of petroleum products on Friday (today) amid the sky-rocketing prices of crude in the international market.
“This is very challenging situation for us. But with our collective wisdom and efforts, we have tried to manage this situation,” he said.
He praised the efforts of minister of petroleum and his team for their efforts which saved commuters from queuing up at fuel stations like in other countries.
Shehbaz mentioned that Pakistan’s import bill of petroleum products had increased by almost three times since the start of the Middle East conflict.
“Suppose, if the country’s import bill of petroleum products was 300 million dollars a week, it has increased to 800 million dollars a week,” he said. He also mentioned the government’s efforts for reducing consumption of fuel and austerity measures.
He was happy to note that the consumption of fuel during the last one week has reduced considerably as compared to previous weeks. “The task force constituted on austerity measures and fuel consumption reviews situation on a daily basis,” he said.
The prime minister pointed out that Pakistan had also been able to pay back $3.5 billion loans while the federal reserves were also at the same level. “For that we are thankful to King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman (MBS)”, he said.
Shehbaz also briefed the cabinet members on Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts to reduce the ongoing tensions in the Middle East. He expressed satisfaction over managing the situation in the best possible manner for public convenience despite the global crisis in petroleum product prices.
The federal cabinet approved a policy for production of vaccines at the national level. The policy aims to reduce dependence on imports for vaccines, save valuable foreign exchange and make the country self-sufficient in vaccine production.
The cabinet meeting also approved the National Skills Development Policy. Under the policy, practical steps will be taken to align the capabilities of workforce with the needs of the country’s industry and trade and demands of the modern era.
The country’s first National Agriculture Biotechnology Policy was also approved in the meeting. The aim of this policy is to ensure national food security, significant increase in agricultural production and research and development in the agricultural sector and effective strategies.
The meeting also approved in principle the National Seed Policy 2025 with an aim to ensure food security and empower farmers.
Under the policy, measures will be taken to increase agricultural production by 15 to 20 percent and to establish partnerships with world-class seed companies. The cabinet approved, in light of the Supreme Court’s decision regarding BS 1 to 15 teachers working on daily wages in the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE), the engagement of their services as Visiting Faculty under the FDE (Visiting Faculty) Regulations 2025 according to their eligibility.
In addition, Nepra’s Annual Report 2025 and the State of Industry Report 2025 were also presented during the cabinet meeting.
APP adds: Minister for National Health Syed Mustafa Kamal and Special Assistant to the PM on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan on Wednesday called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. During the meeting, the health minister briefed the prime minister on the ministry’s ongoing projects and special measures being undertaken to prevent diseases.
Haroon apprised the prime minister of issues related to his portfolio.
Other matters of mutual interests were also discussed during the meeting, according to a statement issued by the PM House. Secretary Health Aslam Ghauri was also present in the meeting.
Meanwhile, the prime minister directed the Pakistan Railways to ensure public convenience and safe rail travel across its network, and to make railway freight services more effective and robust to boost economic activity.
In a meeting with Federal Minister for Railways Mohammad Hanif Abbasi, who called on him here, Shehbaz expressed satisfaction over the recent steps taken by the Pakistan Railways to improve facilities for passengers. Besides discussing the ongoing development projects, the minister briefed the prime minister on the ministry’s operational matters and progress in various initiatives to improve infrastructure. They also exchanged views on other matters of mutual interest.
