The Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet has approved over two billion rupees in favour of various ministries

The ECC, which met in Islamabad today with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb in the chair, approved a technical supplementary grant of 910 million rupees for the establishment of the National Food Safety, Animal, and Plant Health Regulatory Authority.

It authorized the Finance Division to approve the payment of the projected net salary of 935.78 million for FY 2024-25, to be disbursed monthly according to the salary demand of the Pakistan Steel Mills. These funds will be provided from the already approved budgetary allocation of 3.5 billion rupees.

The ECC approved 90.275 million rupees to disburse payments to the Pakistan Air Force and the Pakistan International Airlines, ensuring operational efficiency. Besides, a grant of 941.400 million rupees was sanctioned to meet the operational needs of the Frontier Corps.

The committee approved the extension of duties on relevant iron and steel flat products until March 31, 2025, as recommended by the Tariff Policy Board. However, the ECC emphasized that no further extensions will be entertained.

Regarding the withdrawal of bank guarantees for Afghan Transit Trade facilitation through Gwadar Port, the ECC approved replacing the bank guarantees, imposed on October 7, 2023, for the import of Di-Ammonium Phosphate under Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement with insurance guarantees.