ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Federal Cabinet on Tuesday approved the amendments in the Election Act 2017 to make the Senate vote traceable to prevent horse-trading in the Senate Elections.
In its meeting held in Islamabad under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the Cabinet approved in principle amendments to Section 122 (6) of the Election Act 2017, made in the light of the decisions of the Supreme Court and the draft amendments will be presented before the Cabinet Committee on Law.
The Federal Cabinet also vowed to hold the next elections with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) after the enactment of the Electronic Voting Machine and the voting rights for Overseas Pakistanis Act.
The Cabinet was briefed regarding the introduction of electronic voting machine and the empowerment of Overseas Pakistanis to vote.
The Federal Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz informed that the government committee will meet the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday.
The Cabinet was given a detailed briefing on the schedule regarding delivery and use of EMVs to all Polling Stations in the Country and training of staff.
In the meeting, the Ministry of Planning gave a detailed briefing to the Federal Cabinet on key economic indicators.
It was apprised that in the current government, all the figures and statistics are on a positive trajectory though the incumbent government inherited foreign loans, interest on loans, and circular debt which caused difficulties.
The Cabinet was informed that the volume of exports between July 2021 and November 2021 stood at US$ 12.3 billion, an increase of 29 percent compared to the previous year while the foreign remittances rose to US$ 12.9 billion from US$ 11.8 billion.
It was told that Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves rose to US$ 25.2 billion from US$ 20.3 billion, an increase of 24.2 percent.
Likewise, the collection of tax revenue has increased from Rs 1.7 trillion to Rs 2.3 trillion, an increase of 36.8 percent.
It was further told that the expenditure increased by 17 percent with the largest expenditures being the purchase of the Corona vaccine, a subsidy program for public relief, and the repayment of circular debt.
The Cabinet was told that the cotton production increased by 19.5 percent, rice by 4.8 percent, and sugarcane by 8.7 percent.
It was also told that compared to the previous government, due to the farmer friendly policies of the incumbent government, the farmers have earned a profit of Rs 1,100 billion whereas the private business recorded an increase of 44 percent.
