The government on Thursday approved Rs60 billion additional funds to carry out Operation Azm-e-Istehkam and would immediately release Rs20 billion, which the military has sought to equip security forces fighting against militants in two provinces.
The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet approved Rs20 billion as a special allocation for Operation Azm-e-Istehkam during the current fiscal year 2024-25, according to an official announcement by the Ministry of Finance. An official of the ministry said that the remaining nearly Rs40 billion will be disbursed during the second half of the fiscal year and will be utilised for procurement of advanced military gadgets.
Headed by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, the ECC also allowed the export of additional 100,000 metric tons of sugar, bringing the total export quantity to 250,000 on the watch of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The ECC also delinked the export from maintaining the local prices at Rs140 per kg, giving an unwarranted room to sugar millers to earn not only from the export proceeds but also from the local market by increasing the prices.
Moreover, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet on Thursday gave conditional approval to the export of an additional 0.1 million metric tons of sugar, the summary for which was submitted by the Ministry of Industries and Production.