The federal cabinet has approved the restoration of eleven revoked petroleum exploration licenses on the recommendation of the Petroleum Division.
The decision, taken during the cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held on Thursday, means that exploration activities will now resume in the eleven blocks.
During the meeting, the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) report was presented by the Ministry of Planning. The report was prepared by the planning ministry in collaboration with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Union, United Nations, provincial governments, the government of Gilgit-Baltistan, the government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and other relevant stakeholders.
The report assessed the damage caused by floods in ninety-four districts, especially the damage caused to seventeen major sectors of the economy, including health, agriculture, industry, infrastructure, and communication.
The meeting was briefed that Sindh province was the most affected due to the floods while the agriculture sector throughout the country was affected. The meeting was informed that the PDNA report will support medium to long-term planning to rebuild the flood-affected areas in a climate-resilient manner.
The cabinet members were told that in light of the PDNA, a resilient, recovery renovation and rehabilitation plan was being formulated in consultation with all the relevant ministries, divisions as well as provincial governments.
The cabinet also approved the signing of the Transit Trade Agreement between Pakistan and Tajikistan which is expected to be signed during the upcoming visit of the president of Tajikistan to Pakistan.
The meeting ratified the decisions of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) taken in its meetings on November 29 and December 2, 2022. It also ratified the decisions of the Cabinet Committee for the Disposal of Legislative Cases (CCLC) taken on December 1, 2022.
