PM to oversee govt affairs from London

ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif is overseeing government affairs from London and his principal secretary, military secretary and other staff are helping him in this regard, the PM Office media wing said on Saturday.

"Nawaz is being kept abreast of the routine matters of the country and his directives are accordingly conveyed to the quarters concerned," said the statement.

"The prime minister is in constant contact with the federal ministers, cabinet members and other concerned.

"It is important to note that there are no postponements or delays in matters pertaining to the routine functioning of the state," it added.

"It is, however, natural and understandable that the prime minister will be off from any activities when he is actually on the operating table.

"God willing, soon after the surgery the prime minister will be supervising the state’s affairs with the same spirit and energy," it said.

In an unusual way, Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif will chair the upcoming National Economic Council (NEC) and Federal Cabinet meeting on Monday (tomorrow) through a video link from London for approving the next fiscal year’s development outlay, macroeconomic targets and budget proposals for 2016-17.

Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar, when contacted by The News on Saturday, confirmed that Nawaz would chair the NEC and cabinet meeting via a video link from London and after approving the development outlay he would sign the budget documents.

Under Article 83 of the Constitution, the minister said it was the requirement of the Constitution which would be fulfilled.

He said that the PM would sign the budget documents and sealed papers would be handed over to Pakistan’s High Commission in London.

"The sealed papers would be brought back to Islamabad and I will announce the upcoming budget on June 3 in parliament," the minister added.

To another query regarding salaries of Heavy Mechanical Complex (HMC) employees, the minister concluded that he had approved the seven-month salaries of HMC employees today (Saturday). 

Due to open heart surgery expected to be conducted on Tuesday, the government’s top guns on Saturday decided in a high-level meeting that the premier will chair the NEC and cabinet meetings through a video link by using Skype so that the budget did not get delayed from its announced schedule.

Without delaying the budget, the government decided to unveil the next budget in the National Assembly on June 3.

A top official told The News on Saturday afternoon that the government’s legal team and others held an important meeting under the chairmanship of Ishaq Dar in which two options came under consideration due to the ailment of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who would be passing through an open heart surgery next Tuesday.

One option was to hold the NEC and cabinet meeting through a video link from London prior to the surgery of the premier and get the documents of approving the budget for 2016-17 signed.

The second option that came under discussion was to seek the approval of the PM for designating any minister to chair the NEC and cabinet meetings as the rules of business of the cabinet allowed such arrangement in the case of the absence of the PM or in the case of any emergency.

After deliberations and hectic consultation, the government finally decided to use technology for holding the NEC meeting as per its exact schedule on Monday (tomorrow) afternoon connecting the PM through a video link from London to get approval of the budgetary process well on time in order to avoid delay in the announcement of the next budget.

According to the Finance Ministry’s announcement on Saturday, Nawaz Sharif directed the authorities concerned to announce the next budget in the National Assembly on June 3.

"Arrangements are underway to present the next budget well on time," a brief statement said.

According to the Finance Ministry’s announcement on Saturday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has directed the authorities concerned to announce the next budget in the National Assembly on June 3.

"Arrangements are underway to present the next budget well on time," a statement said.

Finance Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Saturday chaired a high level meeting wherein important decisions were taken.

Minister for Law Zahid Hamid, Secretary Finance, Dr. Waqar Masood Khan, Secretary Cabinet, Nadeem Hasan Asif, Additional Secretary PM Office and other senior officials were present.

The meeting decided that in accordance with the instructions of the prime minister, the meetings of the National Economic Council (NEC) and federal cabinet will be held on 30th May 2016 at 5.15 PM and 6.30 PM respectively.

The NEC will discuss and consider the proposed Annual Development Plan and the Public Sector Development Programme.

The federal cabinet in its meeting would consider and approve the budget for FY 2016-17.

Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Pervaiz Rashid Saturday said Finance Minister Ishaq Dar will look after all government affairs in the absence of Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif.

Talking to the media here, he said the PM was in contact with all ministers and all institutions were working in sync.

Meanwhile, prayers were offered in several mosques in Washington and the neighbouring state of Virginia and Maryland for the early recovery of Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif who will undergo an open-heart surgery in London next week.

At the Friday prayers, worshipers prayed for the successful operation and early recovery of the prime minister and for the prosperity of Pakistan.

Washington and the surrounding states of Virginia and Maryland are home to a large number of Pakistani Americans who are keenly observing happenings back in their motherland.

Many leading members of the Pakistani American community have recently expressed their disappointment over the efforts by some politicians to politically destabilise the country and have asked their leaders to show maturity and unity at a time when Pakistan is fighting a long battle against terrorism.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Friday that the prime minister will be staying in the hospital for a week and would travel back to Pakistan after seeking advice from doctors.

The prime minister’s daughter Maryam Nawaz in a tweet asked people to pray for him saying: "Prayers are the most effective and potent medicine."

Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his best wishes to Nawaz Sharif for his good health and an early recovery.

"My best wishes to PM Nawaz Sharif sahab for his open heart surgery on Tuesday. And for his speedy recovery & good health," the Indian prime minister tweeted.

PTI Chairman Imran Khan also prayed for the successful surgery and speedy recovery of the prime minister. "My prayers for PM Nawaz Sharif's successful surgery and speedy recovery," Khan tweeted.—Originally published in The News