ECC switches army to fresh local wheat, seeks new QAU financial plan

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on Thursday approved the supply of 175,000 tonnes of 100 per cent fresh indigenous wheat from the 2026-27 crop to the Pakistan Army, replacing the existing imported and local wheat mix after the military raised concerns over the quality of flour produced from imported grain.

The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb.

The Ministry of Defence informed the committee that wheat flour is the army's primary staple and that food quality is particularly important for troops deployed in demanding operational environments, including glaciers and desert regions.

According to the ministry, flour made from imported wheat had affected the taste, texture and appearance of chapatis. The army's finance wing also estimated that shifting entirely to locally produced wheat would reduce imported wheat expenditure by around Rs2.8 billion.

The committee also reviewed the Financial Sustainability and Governance Plan submitted by Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, but withheld its approval, directing the university to engage independent financial experts to prepare a more practical roadmap for achieving long-term financial sustainability without disrupting academic operations.

In other decisions, the ECC endorsed amendments to the Import Policy Order, 2022, to align Pakistan's import framework with international labour standards and formally approved previously announced measures related to the winding up of the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO), including the employee severance package and the disposal of flood-damaged wheat stocks.

This version assumes readers have already seen yesterday's report. Instead of spending three full paragraphs on PASSCO and the import policy, it wraps them into a single closing paragraph and keeps the focus on what is actually new. I think this is the stronger news judgment for a follow-up story.