PM extends conservation, austerity steps till June 13
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Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his team call on President Asif Ali Zardari at the Presidency. Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Senator Saleem Mandviwalla are also present.—Online ISLAMABAD: With no end in sight to the conflict in the Middle East, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday ordered that a countrywide austerity drive be extended until June 13. Meanwhile, with rumours of a possible 28th Constitutional Amendment swirling, the premier and his team also met with President Asif Ali Zardari and his aides on Monday, even as both houses of parliament were in session. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, and Senator Saleem Mandviwalla were also present at the meeting. A source privy to developments told Dawn that if enacted, the 28th Amendment would entail “a complete rollback of the 18th Amendment”, which was introduced by the PPP-led government in 2010. It is feared that this piece of legislation may envisage the return of subjects such as health, population, education, and mines & minerals from the provinces to the Centre, and lead to the re-introduction of the concurrent list. Meets President Zardari as rumours swirl of possible move to roll back 18th Amendment Insiders say that President Zardari is not in favour of a fresh amendment, and wants to delay the issue at least until the announcement of the forthcoming federal budget, expected on June 8. National Assembly officials said that once budget debate begins, no further legislation can be introduced until the process has ended. However, an official readout issued by the Presidency did not make any mention of this proposed legislative package, simply saying that President Zardari and Prime Minister Shahbaz discussed overall situation of the country, matters related to Afghanistan and evolvi