ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has announced that Prime Minister Imran Khan has constituted a committee that will evolve a comprehensive policy to check exploitation of the poor people.
Addressing a post-Cabinet press conference on Tuesday, the minister said Prime Minister Imran Khan has expressed serious reservations on the process for acquiring land of poor people in Islamabad to distribute plots among bureaucrats, journalists, and judges.
Fawad Chaudhry said that the Prime Minister has constituted a committee under the chairmanship of Planning Minister Asad Umar to check exploitation of the poor people. “The policy will formulate a system so that lands of common people cannot be acquired to appease bureaucrats, journalists and judges,” he added.
‘UK Red list’
The Information Minister announced that the government has “removed” several reservations of the UK on the Pakistan’s COVID data as the country seeks to exit Britain’s travel red list.
“Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan spoke at length about Pakistan’s coronavirus testing mechanism with Britain’s chief medical scientist”, Chaudhry said. “We hope the British government will review its policy,” he added.
Revival of cinema
“A proposal was presented to the federal cabinet for non-Indian Punjabi films to be screened in Pakistan for the cinema industry’s revival”, the information minister said.
He further said the federal cabinet, giving its feedback, determined that permission to import all foreign movies except Indian should be given, adding that his ministry would present an amended proposal soon.
“In the proposal, we will seek permission to allow foreign movies in Pakistan. In the 70’s we had 780 cinemas which have been cut down to 78, so if we don’t take immediate steps for the film and cinema industry’s revival, it will collapse,” he added.
Briefing the media about other decisions, Fawad Chaudhry said the price of Remdesivir — a drug used to treat patients with COVID-19 — had been lowered from Rs5,680 to Rs3,967.
