The cabinet which met under Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz also endorsed the sale of Karachi Electricity Supply Company (KESC) to a consortium led by Hassan Associates which includes a Saudi company.

Besides taking stock of burning issues confronting the privatisation programme, the cabinet also approved the signing of an agreement between Pakistan and India for commencement of Nankana Sahib-Amritsar Bus Service.

The privatisation and investment minister briefed the cabinet about his meetings with the UAE leadership on the PTCL privatisation. As a follow-up to the meeting he will meet his counterpart in the UAE immediately after Eid and try to achieve closure of the PTCL transaction

The cabinet appreciated the opening of relief camps at five points along the Line of Control where relief and medical assistance would be available to the affected people. It noted that the opening of the specific points on the LoC will also facilitate the meeting of the divided families.

The foreign secretary briefed the cabinet about the procedure, agreed upon by the two governments to facilitate the cross-LoC movement of the earthquake victims, especially the members of the divided families. In order to express the solidarity with the earthquake victims, the cabinet reiterated to observe Eid Al Fitr with sobriety and solemnity and decided that there would be no functions at the official level. It was also decided that the cabinet members would spend Eid with the victims in the earthquake-stricken areas and share the grief with the people, who had suffered devastation of unprecedented scale. They will also visit hospitals, schools, orphanages, crisis centres and tentage villages on the day.

The cabinet ratified the decision of the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation of the 73 per cent shares of the KESC to Hassan Associates, a consortium which also includes a prominent Saudi Group Al Jomiah. The prime minister appreciated the efforts of Privatisation Commission for the success of the landmark transaction. The completion of this sale will send a very strong single to the investor community both at home and abroad. The total proceeds and injections into the company will be over Rs20 billion. The privatisation of the KESC will definitely lead to better quality of service for the public.

The cabinet approved the federalisation of Hoshab-Panjgur-Nag-Baseema Sorab Road, which will provide an efficient means of transportation up to the Gwadar port. The Gawdar port has immense commercial potential, which will create a lot of economic activity in the country in general and in Balochistan in particular.

The cabinet also reviewed the relief operations and expressed its satisfaction over the pace of distribution of tents, blankets and other material required to face the severity of the winter. The cabinet was informed that about 265,000 tents, and 3.3 million blankets had already been distributed and the government would ensure the availability of the blankets and tents to every one during this month as the government had firmed up the arrangements for assured supply, both from domestic and foreign sources.