ISLAMABAD  -  Federal cabinet at its meeting on Tuesday directed to hold a nation­al level Interfaith Harmony Confer­ence next week in the context of the Jaranwala incident.

The cabinet meeting was chaired by caretaker Prime Minister An­waar-ul-Haq Kakar who briefed the cabinet about his visit to Jaranwala and interaction with the local pop­ulation. The cabinet directed to in­vite scholars of international stature from different religions and schools of thought. It was noted the confer­ence will prove to be a milestone for the promotion of interfaith harmony in the country. The Prime Minister termed the protection of minorities as the topmost priority.

He categorically stated that fan­ning religious hatred and extremism will not be allowed at any cost in the country. Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar as­sured to award exemplary punish­ment to those involved in the Jaran­wala incident. The caretaker Prime Minister said the prime mandate of the caretaker government is to assist and monitor the electoral process as per the constitutional requirement.

He said the caretaker set up is for a limited period and it cannot design the government’s model or struc­ture. He said as a continuation of the previous government, we are sup­posed to carry on with the general policy and works. He said we have to perform day-to-day monitoring of activities to the best of our abilities.

The Caretaker Prime Minister ex­pressed the hope the cabinet mem­bers would have taken or would be in the process of taking briefings from their relevant departments. He asked the cabinet members to come up with their work plans, assuring that the weekly cabinet agendas would be pursued keeping them in view.

On the recommendation of the Fi­nance Ministry, the federal cabi­net fixed the diyat amount which is equivalent to 30630 gram silver at about 6.705 million rupees for the current fiscal year.