ECC okays Rs2b to fight fake news

ISLAMABAD:

The federal government on Monday approved Rs2 billion worth of additional funds to fight fake information against state institutions and also diverted nearly Rs750 million from budget to clear pending liabilities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.

Headed by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet approved over Rs10 billion in additional grants including funds for the Ministry of Defence.

"The ECC reviewed and approved a technical supplementary grant of Rs1.945 billion in favour of the Ministry of Defence," said a statement issued by the finance ministry.

The development came amid repeated warnings about the dissemination of fake news for vested political interests. Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir has also in the past underscored the need to bring justice to "the inimical elements" spreading fake news and involved in propaganda.

The ECC was informed that the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) was playing a key role in countering fake information about state institutions. In order to keep abreast of enhanced requirements and fulfill assigned tasks, a gradual technological upgrade of the ISPR Directorate to match adversarial technologies has become imminent, the ECC was told. The military had asked for nearly Rs2 billion in upfront one-time cost and a recurring budget of Rs1.6 billion every year to further beef up their systems.

The ECC, however, decided that Rs2 billion would be given immediately while the remaining Rs1.6 billion should be made part of the regular budget and its approval should be secured at the time of next budget announcement in June. Out of the Rs2 billion, an amount of Rs1.22 billion has been sanctioned for technology upgrade and Rs723 million for cyber security purposes, according to officials of the finance ministry.

The ECC also approved a Rs746 million budget for clearing pending liabilities of organising the SCO summit in October 2024, including the cost of local and foreign journalists and provision of security.

The finance ministry stated that the Ministry of Information presented a proposal to clear the outstanding liabilities of the Korean Culture Week and the 23rd SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting held in 2024.

It said that due to insufficient budgetary allocations under operational heads, liabilities amounting to Rs25 million for the Korean Culture Week and Rs95.822 million for the SCO meeting remained unpaid. The ECC approved the reallocation of Rs120.822 million.

Moreover, the Ministry of Interior requested a supplementary grant of Rs650.5 million to cover security arrangements and maintain law and order during the SCO Summit 2024, repair safe city cameras damaged during violent protests, and address other law enforcement needs. The ECC approved the request, it added.

The budget of Rs650 million has been provided by diverting funds of the deputy commissioner Islamabad office, Advocate General Office and Islamabad Capital Territory police funds.

The ECC approved Rs1.7 billion in additional budget to clear pending liabilities of Huawei Technology on account of the Safe City Camera project in Islamabad.

The finance ministry said that the payment of Rs1.7 billion would be made to Huawei Technologies to clear the remaining 5% of the contract cost for the Safe City Project Islamabad, as directed by the Islamabad High Court.

Ramazan package

The ECC did not approve any new budget for the Ramazan relief package and instead cleared the pending liabilities of Rs1.7 billion.

The finance ministry stated that the ECC reviewed a request from the Ministry of Industries to continue the Prime Minister's Relief Package through the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) in FY 2024-25.

The ECC approved Rs1.7 billion to cover expenses incurred by USC between June 30 and August 18, 2024 on the condition that the subsidy was budgeted for this year, and no further expenditures would be carried beyond this period.

The federal cabinet had decided that USC would be privatised or wound up, and an alternative arrangement would be explored, which may include cash transfer to underprivileged recipients.

The ECC approved a proposal of the Ministry of Information for an additional Rs2.5 billion budget to facilitate the execution of 15 projects under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) during the current fiscal year. The budget was given by diverting funds from another project.

The government had allocated Rs6.3 billion for the Ministry of Information for the current fiscal year for the execution of 15 projects.

Women Commission

The ECC approved Rs5.3 million for the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW), which involved the reallocation of funds from the Ministry of Human Rights. This decision is aimed at supporting NCSW's efforts in advancing gender equality and women's empowerment.

The Ministry of Commerce also presented a proposal to ban the import of polyol chemicals. The ECC approved the ban, effective from the end of January 2025.

The committee instructed the Ministry of Climate Change to consult the Ministry of Industries to ensure the latter had sufficient time to inform the relevant industry. It was directed that no new Letter of Credit should be opened for the banned chemicals.

Pakistan is a signatory of the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer and the country is actively working for phasing out ozone depletion substances.

The Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training presented a request for an additional budget of Rs1.5 billion. The funding is intended to increase salaries of faculty members under the Tenure Track System, which has not been revised since 2021. The ECC approved the request.