ISLAMABAD: On Friday, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif issued a directive to the relevant authorities to make sure that the impact of a decrease in petroleum prices was transferred to the general public in the form of lower transportation costs and food prices.
While presiding over a meeting of the Federal Cabinet, the prime minister requested the country’s district administrations and the Interior Ministry to ensure that the cost of goods was reduced. He demanded that the profiteers be dealt with harshly and said that the cost of transportation and food should be decreased in line with the government’s announced 11 percent reduction in petroleum prices. The prime minister informed the Federal Cabinet on Thursday of his visit to Iran and stated that Pakistan wanted to increase cooperation with the neighboring country.
PM Shehbaz told the meeting that the two sides had agreed to improve the security along the 900-kilometer Pak-Iran border. Both sides had emphasised the joint efforts to counter cross-border terrorism, he added.
The prime minister said the import of low-cost electricity from Iran would help uplift the remote areas of Balochistan.
He further said Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi took a personal interest to ensure the completion of the much-delayed 100MW Gabd-Polan power transmission line within record time.
The project would ensure the power supply to southern Balochistan, particularly Gwadar, the premier remarked.
Similarly, PM Shehbaz said, the Mand-Pishin border marketplace would create employment opportunities for the people on both sides of the border and usher in a new era of development.
Shehbaz Sharif told the cabinet that the Iranian president had expressed special interest in enhancing bilateral trade, besides discussing cooperation in the fields of agriculture, science and technology, and solar energy. A high-level delegation led by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto would visit Iran for further deliberations on the said projects.
