Federal cabinet approves National Adaptation Plan, E-Safety and Personal Data Protection bills

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet on Wednesday approved the National Adaptation Plan 2023 aimed at protecting vulnerable communities from the adverse impacts of climate change and also the E-Safety bill 2023 to protect user data and prevent illegal use of information systems.

The meeting of the cabinet was held here with Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif in chair.

An official handout from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said that under the National Adaptation Plan, 2023, the government, along with other stakeholders, would take measures to protect vulnerable communities from the adverse effects of climate change.

These measures include early warning systems and effective measure to cope with emergency situations, the handout said.

Pakistan, which has the world’s fifth largest population, is responsible for less than 1pc of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to officials. However, it is one of the most vulnerable nations to the extreme weather conditions caused by global warming.

According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), 150 people have died in the country while 233 have been injured since June 25 due to the latest spell of monsoon rainfall.

Under the E-Safety and Personal Data Protection laws, a comprehensive framework will be established to ensure the protection and unauthorized use of user data on all types of online services, online shopping, data provided to various companies, and social networking websites in Pakistan. After the approval of the bill, heinous crimes like online harassment, cyber-bullying, and blackmail will be effectively prevented.

Under this bill, the government will ensure the security of the user’s personal information/data of various organizations and companies and prohibit sharing of the user’s information/data with any company, individual, or government organization without their permission.

Under the law, the National Commission for Personal Data Protection (NCPDP) will be established which will act as a civil court to protect the private documents/data of the users and redress the grievances of the complainants.

The federal cabinet also gave assent to the draft amendment bill of the Investment Board Ordinance 2001 for the promotion of foreign investment in Pakistan.

The amendment will empower the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) as well as lay down its basic structure, working procedures, and cooperation mechanisms with various ministries and provincial governments.

After the law is passed, the SIFC will ensure the speedy implementation of foreign investment projects in the country.

The federal cabinet, on the recommendation of the Ministry of Anti-Narcotics, established a ministerial committee under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Defense Khawaja Muhammad Asif to finalize the contents of the National Cannabis Policy.

In this regard, the committee will present its recommendation to the federal committee in the next meeting.

The federal cabinet approved the reorganization of accountability courts on the recommendation of the Ministry of Law and Justice, under which 11 accountability courts will be changed into seven banking courts, two intellectual tribunals, a special court central, and a special court in Balochistan. This restructuring will not incur any additional costs.

The federal cabinet also approved the reorganization of the Board of Directors of Sui Northern Gas Pipeline (SNGPL) besides approving the appointment of members of the Selection Committee of Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority.

The federal cabinet approved the National Adaptation Plan 2023 on the recommendation of the Ministry of Climate Change. Under the plan, the government, along with other partners, will take measures to protect climate-prone communities from the adverse effects of climate change.

On the recommendation of the Ministry of Climate Change, the Federal Cabinet approved to refer the Islamabad Nature Conservation and Wild Life Management Act, 2023 to the Cabinet Committee on Legislative Cases (CCLC) for the protection of wildlife and natural assets in Islamabad.

The federal cabinet approved the inclusion and removal of names in the Exit Control List (ECL) on the recommendation of the Ministry of Interior.

Furthermore, the cabinet also approved the order that if the reason for the inclusion of the names in the passport control list and the exit control list is the same, then the name will be removed from the exit control list along with the name from the passport control list.

The cabinet also gave assent to the decisions taken in the meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee held on July 24.

The meeting approved the decisions taken in the meetings of the cabinet committee on Legislative Cases held on July 6, 7, 21, and July 25. The federal cabinet approved the decisions made by the cabinet committees on Privatization, and Inter-Governmental Transactions separately held on July 10. – Our Correspondent and News Agencies