Cabinet approves major climate, legal reforms

The 33rd meeting of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, convened on Friday to deliberate on a broad array of legislative, administrative, and development matters.
Key cabinet members, the Chief Secretary, Advocate General, and senior officials attended the session.
Briefing media on the outcomes, Advisor to the Chief Minister on Information and Public Relations, Barrister Dr Muhammad Ali Saif, said the cabinet approved the Climate Action Board (CAB) Bill 2025, a landmark step toward a coordinated provincial response to climate change. The financially independent board will oversee climate policies, track greenhouse gas emissions, support climate research, and mobilize funding. It will function autonomously and be empowered to appoint staff and consultants necessary to execute its mandate.
In legislative actions, the cabinet endorsed forwarding three provincial assembly resolutions to the federal government. Resolution No 167, passed on April 28, voiced grave concern over the repeated arrests and alleged mistreatment of former MNA Ali Wazir. It demanded his immediate release, access to medical care, and withdrawal of politically motivated cases.
Resolution No 161 urged a revision of Pakistan's Afghanistan policy, citing its failure to curb terrorism in K-P and its negative impact on bilateral relations. It called for K-P to be given a more active role in peace dialogues.
The third resolution, No 168, condemned India's aggressive posture, including threats related to the Indus Waters Treaty, and expressed solidarity with Pakistan's armed forces. The assembly urged the international community to act against India's violations of international obligations.
Among development projects, the cabinet approved an enhanced budget for the construction of Jani Khel police station in Bannu, increasing costs from Rs100 million to Rs140.43 million. It also sanctioned a cadastral mapping pilot project in Peshawar and Mohmand through an MoU between the Board of Revenue and the Survey of Pakistan.
Further approvals included amendments to Health Department recruitment rules enabling hiring of dental surgeons and nurses, and changes to the Tourism Act 2019 to empower the board to manage employment matters of tourism police.
The cabinet ratified construction of a 750-meter road near Odigram Bridge in Lower Dir at a cost of Rs190 million and raised the budget for Takatak-Haya Sairai Bridge to Rs1.02 billion.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Business Recorder

3 hours ago

• Business Recorder

India's water belligerence

That India has learnt no lesson from its humiliation that it has suffered in the battle field as well as on the diplomatic front at the hands of Pakistan is a fact that has found its best expression form its home minister Amit Shah's remarks that he made in an interview to an Indian newspaper yesterday. According to him, India will never restore the Indus Waters Treaty with Islamabad, and the water flowing to Pakistan will be diverted for internal use. This development clearly shows that it is a foolish attempt at face-saving. Needless to say, the incumbent government in India, which is the political face of Sangh Parivar, is working day in, day out to restore its tarnished image, but nothing is working for it. In my view, it is quite likely that the very public loss of credibility will lead to the demise of the Narendra Modi-led government in coming weeks or months, if not days. Saba Shaukat, Karachi Copyright Business Recorder, 2025

Business Recorder

5 hours ago

• Business Recorder

Firmly committed to IWT: MoFA

ISLAMABAD: Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said on Saturday that Pakistan remains firmly committed to the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) and will take all necessary measures to protect its legitimate rights and entitlements under it. Responding to media queries regarding the Indian Home Minister's assertion that the IWT will never be restored, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, 'The statement reflects a brazen disregard for the sanctity of international agreements.' The IWT is not a political arrangement, but an international treaty with no provision for unilateral action. India's illegal announcement to hold the Treaty in abeyance constitutes a clear violation of international law, the provisions of the Treaty itself, and the fundamental principles governing inter-state relations. Such conduct sets a reckless and dangerous precedent—one that undermines the credibility of international agreements and raises serious questions about the reliability and trustworthiness of a state that openly refuses to fulfil its legal obligations. India says it will never restore Indus water treaty with Pakistan The FO spokesperson said that weaponising water for political ends is irresponsible and contrary to established norms of responsible state behaviour. India must immediately rescind its unilateral and unlawful stance, and restore the full and unhindered implementation of the IWT.

Express Tribune

6 hours ago

• Express Tribune

Water disaster in making

Listen to article India's obsession to settle scores with Pakistan is going over the board. It seems to be completely unmindful of international commitments as well as norms of diplomacy and neighbourhood. Home Minister Amit Shah's threat not to restore the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) with Islamabad, and continue to divert the water flowing to Pakistan to other Indian states is a step beyond foolishness, and speaks of the BJP coterie's tendency of playing to the gallery. Such suspension is not possible under the nomenclature of the World Bank and global conventions for a lower riparian state. Delhi is also trying to influence nature by forcefully diverting the surplus flow from the three western rivers of the Indus water system, and by mulling construction of a 113km long canal on its pathway. Pakistan is already suffering from water stress since India has taken this bizarre unilateral step. Islamabad's call to talk it out in the backdrop of the recent four-day war has fallen on deaf ears. The stand-off, nonetheless, has also attracted some domestic interplay as Omar Abdullah, Occupied Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister, has vented his anger over the flawed strategy of diverting water from his state, while it is in the midst of a drought. This row is, sooner than later, going to become an intra-state ordeal, mounting a climatic catastrophe in the region. To what extent is Delhi willing to go with the tide of anger and invite disaster on its own riverine system as well as hydropower installations is anybody's guess. As for Pakistan, it seeks a dialogue with India so as to discuss all irritants in bilateralism. That is why it was receptive to the mediation brokered by US President Donald Trump, and is willing to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize too in recognition of his diplomatic strides. The only way ahead for India is to desist from escalating the situation and resort to logic in the water domain. The flimsy conception of holding back water from the glaciers for long in its north is an assured precursor to disaster.