Finance Minister Aurangzeb removed as Ecnec chairman

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has removed Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb from the chairmanship of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec), taking over the leadership of the crucial economic decision-making body himself. 

According to a news report, this is the second time Aurangzeb has been removed from chairing a major economic body. He was previously replaced by Dar as chairman of the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation.

The Prime Minister will now head Ecnec, with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar included as a member.

Ecnec has a total of eight members, with four from the centre and one each from the four provinces. 

To accommodate the new members, the Minister for Communication and the Minister for Commerce have been excluded from the committee. 

The Cabinet Division has notified the new composition of Ecnec, which is responsible for decisions on economic and development plans. 

The committee will now comprise Prime Minister Sharif as chairman, with members including Ishaq Dar, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, and Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal.

Although the finance minister will remain a member of Ecnec, he will not have the final say in budgetary decisions. 

As per the news report, the prime minister had also wanted Dar to join the economic team briefing military authorities on the budget and the IMF program, but Dar did not attend.

The Cabinet Division has also notified the four provincial members of Ecnec: Marriyum Aurangzeb from Punjab, Jam Khan Shoro from Sindh, Adviser to Chief Minister Muzammil Aslam from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and Finance Minister Shoaib Nosherwani from Balochistan.

Ecnec is tasked with approving mega development projects worth Rs10 billion or more. In its first meeting, the committee is expected to consider several significant projects, including the $6.7 billion Mainline-I railway project and the $2 billion Karakoram Highway project.