ISLAMABAD: A day after appointing himself chair of the country’s top economic committee, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday reshuffled it by handing back the committee’s charge to Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, a notification by the Cabinet Division said.
The Economic Coordination Committee (ECCI) is one of the most important cabinet committees in every government and is tasked with deliberating on the country’s urgent economic matters and putting forward proposals to regulate policies to maximize production and exports, and prevent inflation.
The finance minister of every government usually leads the ECC. However, a notification released by the Cabinet Division on Friday said Sharif had constituted the ECC with himself as its chair, comprising ministers of economic affairs, commerce, power, petroleum and planning.
In a fresh notification on Saturday, however, the Cabinet Division said Sharif had “reconstituted” the committee with the finance minister as its chairman. In the new committee, the prime minister is not a member of the ECC.
“The Prime Minister, in terms of Rule 17 (2) of Rules of Business, 1973, has been pleased to reconstitute the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet,” the notification read.
Other members of the committee remained the same: the ministers of economic affairs, commerce, power, petroleum and planning.
It remains unclear why the prime minister reversed his decision and handed the chairmanship of the committee to the finance minister.
Quoting a senior member of the cabinet without naming them, Pakistani newspaper Dawn said the prime minster had “regretted he would be unable to chair the ECC meetings due to his hectic schedule and engagements.”
Last Sunday, the prime minister made an important change in his 19-member cabinet when he replaced Dr. Musadik Masood Malik with Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari as the minister of power.
Cash-strapped Pakistan is trying to negotiate a long-term bailout program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to stave off an economic crisis. The South Asian country’s fragile $350 billion economy needs external financing to avert a balance of payments crisis.
Pakistan’s economic crisis has seen inflation hover around 30 percent and economic growth slow to around 2 percent.
PM Sharif hands over charge of Pakistan’s top economic committee to finance minister
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PM Sharif hands over charge of Pakistan’s top economic committee to finance minister
- PM Sharif appointed himself as chair of the Economic Coordination Committee on Friday
- ECC is a government committee tasked with taking important decisions on Pakistan’s economy
Bilateral trade, investment, defense in focus as Indonesian president visits Pakistan today
- President Prabowo Subianto will arrive on a two-day visit in Islamabad, leading high-level delegation of ministers, officials
- Indonesian president to hold delegation-level meeting with PM Shehbaz Sharif, oversee signing of several agreements
ISLAMABAD: Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is scheduled to arrive in Pakistan today, Monday, on a two-day visit aimed at exploring new avenues of cooperation with Islamabad in trade, defense, investment, health, education and other sectors, the Pakistani foreign ministry said.
This marks Subianto’s maiden visit to Pakistan and the first by an Indonesian president to the country since 2018. Subianto will arrive in Islamabad leading a high-level delegation of senior ministers and officials, with his trip coinciding with the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Islamabad and Jakarta.
Subianto will hold delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and will also meet President Asif Ali Zardari and Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir during his two-day visit.
“The two sides will discuss a wide-ranging agenda aimed at further strengthening Pakistan-Indonesia relations and exploring new avenues of cooperation, including trade, investment, defense, health, IT, climate, education and culture, as well as enhancing collaboration at regional and global levels,” the Pakistani foreign ministry said on Sunday.
“Several Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) are expected to be signed during the visit.”
Pakistan and Indonesia enjoy close, cordial and long-standing relations rooted in shared values and mutual interests. The foreign office said the Indonesian president’s visit will provide a key opportunity for both sides to deepen bilateral ties and expand mutually beneficial cooperation.
Indonesia is also home to a few hundred Pakistani expatriates, many of whom are engaged in businesses such as restaurants, the selling of hand-knotted carpets, precious stones, textile items and herbal medicines.
