Dar becomes alternate chairman of ECNEC

Will chair first ECNEC meeting today to consider mega development projects

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday made Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar the alternate chairman of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec), which further strengthened the position of four-time finance minister in economic affairs.

Just two weeks after the constitution of Ecnec, PM Sharif elevated Dar, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister, to the position of alternate chairman. Earlier, Dar was only a member of Ecnec.

The PM has kept the post of Ecnec chairman after some resistance to making Dar the head of the committee two weeks ago.

“In the absence of the prime minister, the deputy prime minister and minister for foreign affairs shall chair the meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council,” the Cabinet Division notified on Friday.

Dar is scheduled to chair his first Ecnec meeting on Saturday in the absence of the PM, who will not be available for the meeting.

Ecnec is mandated to make decisions on economic and development plans. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb will sit under the chairmanship of Dar.

Dar’s position as the party’s economic czar strengthened due to the poor handling of the federal budget.

Eyebrows were also raised over an attempt to quietly grant Rs60 billion to Rs90 billion in income tax relief to banks. The issue came to the fore after a story appeared in The Express Tribune and the PM had to intervene to reverse the proposed tax exemption.

Dar played a role and briefed the PM about the move to give the tax favour. As a result, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had to drop the proposal from the final Finance Act 2024, which the National Assembly approved on Friday.

Ecnec has a total of eight members – four from the centre and one each from four provinces. Earlier, the PM made Dar the chairman of the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation.

Ecnec is a crucial body particularly at a time when the coalition government is banking on the support of different political parties. The Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) has secured the allocation of Rs65 billion in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) in return for its vote for the budget.

Punjab’s Senior Minister for Planning Marriyum Aurangzeb is a member of Ecnec. From Sindh, Jam Khan Shoro, from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Adviser to Chief Minister Muzammil Aslam and from Balochistan, Finance Minister Shoaib Nosherwani are members of Ecnec.

Ecnec has the mandate to approve mega development projects of Rs7.5 billion and above. In its maiden meeting, Ecnec is expected to take up the $6.7 billion Mainline-I railway project, $2 billion Karakoram Highway project along with other mega schemes approved by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) but required the final nod of Ecnec.

Although the finance minister is a member of Ecnec, he would not have the final say in matters that will have serious implications for the budget.

There has been a tendency in the Planning Commission to approve mega projects without due diligence. Ecnec is a check on such decisions.

The government has allocated 19% of next fiscal year’s development budget for the new schemes.

A day ago, the CDWP recommended nine projects worth Rs867 billion to Ecnec for its approval.

The CDWP recommended the 500kV Matiari-Moro-Rahim Yar Khan Transmission Line project worth Rs19 billion to Ecnec for further consideration. It also forwarded Rs436 billion worth of Lahore-Sahiwal-Bahawalnagar Motorway project, having 295-kilometre length, for Ecnec’s approval.

The Rs11 billion Chakdara-Chitral Road project will also land in Ecnec. Likewise, an electrical and mechanical works project for buildings and bridges for access roads of Lowari Tunnel costing Rs37.3 billion is on Ecnec’s table for approval.