Prime Minister Raja Pervez Asharaf has reconstituted a thirteen (13) member Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet (ECC) with Federal Minister for Finance Dr.Abdul Hafeez Shaikh as its Chairman.

According to a Notification of the Cabinet Secretariat, Deputy Prime Minister/Senior Minister for Industries, Ministers for Commerce, Communications,Law and Justice,National Food Security of Research , Port and Shipping ,Privatization Production, Railways, Science and Techonolgy, Textile Industry and Water and Power would be the members of the newly constituted Committee.

The Notification further said that Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Petroleum and Natural Resources, Minister of State for Production, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission , Governor State Bank of Pakistan, Chairman Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan , Chairman Board of Investment, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Water resources and Agriculture, Secretary, Commerce Division, Secretary Communication Division, and Secretary Economic Affairs Division would be invited by special invitation for all items of the agenda.

Meanwhile in an another Notification issued by the Cabinet Secretariat/Cabinet Division, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has also reconstituted the eight (8) members Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) with Federal Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, Dr.Abdul Hafeez Shaikh as its Chairman.

The other members of the ECNEC would be Dr.Arbab Alamgir Khan Minister for Communication, Mir Changez Khan Jamali ,Minister for Science and Technology, Ch.Ahmad Mukhtar ,Minister for Water and Power, Minister for finance Government of Balochista Representative of Balochistan on NEC, Senior Minister for Planning and Development and Power ,Government of KhyberPakhtunkhwa on NEC, Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar Representative of Punjab on NEC, and Hussain Mirza Representative of Sindh on NEC.

According to the notification, the Prime Minister has also directed that following officials on Federal Government and Provincial Governments would attend the meeting of the ECNEC by Special invitation ,for all items of the agenda.

Federal Government:

1-Mir Israrullah Zehri Minister for National Food Security and Research.

2-End.Shaukatullah Minister of State for Frontier Region.

3-Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilou Minister for Railways.

4-Makhdoom Shahbuddin Minister for Textile Industry.

5-Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani,Minister for Inter Provincial Coordination.

6-Deputy Chairman Planning Commission.

7-Secretary Economic Affairs Division.

8-Secretary Finance Division.

9-Secretary Planning and Development Division.

10-Secretary Statistics Division.

Provincial governments:

11-Chairman Planning and development division Government of Punjab.

12-Additional Chief Secretary ,Planning and Development department Government of Sindh.

13-Additional Chief Secretary ,Planning and Development department Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and

14-Additional Chief Secretary ,Planning and Development department Government of Balochistan.

Other officers of the Federal and Provincial governments as well as the governments of AJ&K,Gilgit Baltistan and FATA would be invited to the meetings of ECNEC on need basis, the notification said.

One half of the total members of the ECNEC would be the quorum for its meetings as provided in article 156 (4) of the Constitution for the meetings of the National Economic Council (NEC).

Secretariat assistance to the ECNEC would be provided by the Cabinet Division.

Source: APP