Federal cabinet pays tribute to PM, DPM, Field Marshal for defending national interests

ISLAMABAD, Aug 10 (APP):The federal cabinet on Monday unanimously passed a resolution in which Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar and Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir were paid tribute for their wise and far-sighted leadership, for raising Pakistan’s global image and effectively defending the  national interests.

       The cabinet meeting was chaired by Prime Minister, Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.                                                    The cabinet members also termed the signing of the historic joint defence agreement among Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye as an important diplomatic and defence development.

           The resolution described this agreement as an important step to further strengthen the unity and consensus among the Muslim Ummah.

The cabinet also approved the National Housing Policy 2026 and the action plan for its implementation. The cabinet was informed that the National Housing Policy was prepared by a working group comprising national and international experts, while consultations were also held with federal ministries, provincial governments and development partners during its preparation. The cabinet was informed that the main objective of the policy was to provide sustainable, safe and quality housing for all citizens.

The cabinet directed that full compliance with zoning laws should be ensured in housing projects and vertical housing should be given priority for effective use of land. At the same time, the cabinet directed that energy efficiency codes should also be made an integral part of the National Housing Policy so that new constructions would be energy efficient and environmentally friendly. The cabinet was also briefed on the progress under the Prime Minister’s ‘Apna Ghar’ scheme.

The cabinet was informed that loans worth Rs 220 billion have been approved by various banks to applicants desiring to own homes, while more than Rs 32 billion have been released to successful applicants.

The cabinet approved the withdrawal of the notice of termination of the 1981 Bilateral Investment Treaty between Pakistan and Sweden on the summary submitted by the Board of Investment.

The draft of Pakistan Information Security Framework 2026 (PISF 2026) was presented to the cabinet by the Ministry of Information Technology. The cabinet was informed that this framework has been prepared under the CERT Rules 2023, which was aimed to develop a comprehensive and unified system of basic uniform standards for information security and ensure centralized oversight.

The cabinet, while approving the Pakistan Information Security Framework 2026, described it as an important guiding document for cyber security and directed that its effective implementation should be ensured within the stipulated time frame.

The federal cabinet also ratified the decision taken in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) held on July 28. Under this decision, the proposed amendments to the Pakistan Oil Refining Policy 2023 were approved, according to which oil refineries would be upgraded to better meet the country’s energy needs.

The cabinet ratified the decisions taken in the meetings of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) held on July 27 and August 4.

The cabinet also ratified the decisions taken in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Legislation (CCLC) held on July 24.