President Reconstitutes National Economic Council Just Before Budget Approval

The President of Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi, has approved the reconstitution of the National Economic Council (NEC), under Article 156 (1) of the Constitution. The Prime Minister will be its Chairman and the Chief Ministers of the four provinces will be its members. The first meeting of the NEC will be held tomorrow (Wednesday). The appointed members of the NEC from the federation are the Minister for Planning, Ahsan Iqbal; the Minister for Finance, Miftah Ismail; the Minister for Commerce, Syed Naveed Qamar; and the Minister for Communications, Asad Mahmood. Sardar Owais Ahmed Khan Leghari from Punjab and Senator Nisar Ahmed Khorro from Sindh were approved as members by the President. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Minister for Finance, Taimur Saleem Jhagra, and Balochistan’s Senior Minister for Finance, Noor Muhammad Damar, have also been appointed as members. The Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Secretary Finance, Secretary Economic Affairs, and Secretary Planning Division will attend the meetings of the NEC on special invitation. The Prime Minister had requested for a reconstitution of the NEC under the summary and the President followed through with it.