Finance Minister Asad Umar to chair ECC meeting today

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Asad Umar will chair a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) meeting on Monday.

The meeting’s agenda includes a summary of increase in gas prices, a report on the proposed increase in Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) price, and a detailed report on circular debt, sources said.

On September 10, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) had decided against an immediate increase in gas prices and left the final decision to Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Further, the ECC decided to provide fertiliser factories with 50 per cent local gas and 50 per cent LNG.
Pakistan’s circular debt mounts to Rs596bn, ECC informed

The 12-member ECC includes Law Minister Farogh Naseem, Petroleum Minister Ghulam Abbasi, Planning and Development Minister Khusro Bakhtiar and Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid. The committee also includes prime minister’s advisors Razak Dawood and Dr Ishrat Hussain

In addition, six more ministers — communications, national food security, power, privatisation, statistics and water resources — are part of the ECC.

Pakistan’s most pressing challenge is the country’s depleting foreign exchange reserves. With outstanding loans of worth $94 billion, the new government has remained indecisive on approaching the International Monetary Fund.