Major airports to be outsourced: Shibli

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz Tuesday said the federal cabinet had formed a special committee to prepare a legal framework by June 30 to outsource country's major airports to bring them on par with international standards.

Briefing journalists here about the federal cabinet decisions, taken under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the minister said the government was looking for some international firm with rich experience of operating and managing airports. He said a legal framework had to be clarified before the tendering process started and, to this effect, a committee, to be headed by Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan, would fast track the process.

About job security of employees working at airports in case of their outsourcing, he said the government, which came to power on the basis of votes of masses, would like to ensure none was deprived of his job rather there could be more job opportunities.

The minister castigated opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif for ‘staging drama’ to demand fresh polls, while masses had elected PM. He advised the opposition leader to give answer to questions asked by special assistant Shahzad Akbar.

Shibli said the Sharif family did not like being in opposition, rather they wanted to remain in power and resort to loot and plunder of national resources. He said when they win elections, they are fair, but if they lose, they call them bogus. He said the people of Pakistan have rejected the corrupt elements in 2018 elections and they could not the befooled by such slogans. He said that Shahbaz Sharif wanted to divert attention from serious allegations of corruption by such sloganeering.

“Shahbaz thinks, he may win elections and then the accountability will be the same, as witnessed in the past. But this time, we will not let him go,” the minister maintained.

He said the PM had directed all ministries to clear the media dues before Eid. PM Imran Khan was briefed on outstanding dues of various media houses, concerning different ministries.

“The newspapers have 85 per cent share and agencies 15 per cent, and this can’t happen that 85 per cent wallas are made to follow 15 per cent wallas in terms of payments. “We have made it clear to the agencies that if they will not abide by the laid down formula, then action will be taken accordingly against them,” he said.

The cabinet, he noted, also discussed the issue of provincial water share and decided to install state-of-the-art telemetry system to ensure transparency in water distribution. He said in the past some vested interests had been creating hurdles in installation of telemetry system. He said the cabinet noted that the performance of the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) members from Sindh, Punjab and federal capital was not up to the mark and an inquiry would be held against them. The cabinet accorded approval to ECC meeting of May 13 in which approval was given to mobile-phone manufacturing and 50pc federal subsidy on wheat procurement for Azad Jammu and Kashmir people. He said the cabinet gave approval to special package for agriculture sector. He said 27 ministries submitted reports regarding illegal recruitments to the government departments. There are 638 people who had been illegally recruited and were working in different government departments, the minister said. He added that the PM expressed his strong displeasure over laxity of the ministries, which had still not submitted their data of illegal appointments to the cabinet.

Shibli said that those ministries, who have not submitted the reports, have been given one-week time for the purpose. He said action was being taken against illegal recruitments since August 2016. About the Inquiry Commission’s forensic reports on wheat and sugar crisis, he said he was 90 per cent sure that the reports would be presented before Eid and in this connection, a special cabinet meeting could be summoned as well. “The government is serious on the issue of accountability for which it was given mandate by the people and it is not done, then we will not be different from others,” he contended. He confirmed that placing the name of Shahbaz Sharif on the Exit Control List was under consideration.