ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s cabinet economic committee has approved on Friday a series of supplementary grants, education relief measures and an electricity reform package.
Decisions by the Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet indicate the government plans to stabilise key public services and address fiscal pressures.
The ECC is the apex body for economic decision-making, policy and financial approvals. Normally, it convenes under the Finance Minister, as it did on Friday with Muhammad Aurangzeb in the chair.
The committee approved a technical supplementary grant of Rs 13.1 million requested by the Petroleum Division to meet Pakistan’s annual contribution to the International Energy Forum. It would allow the country to remain engaged in global discussions on energy markets and cooperation.
Another proposal from the Petroleum Division was cleared, allocating Rs 3 billion to expand gas supply schemes in villages located within a five-kilometre radius of gas production fields.
The projects will be implemented through Sui Southern Gas Company Limited and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited, to improve energy access for communities living close to producing fields.
The committee also approved a technical supplementary grant of Rs 200 million requested by the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training to clear outstanding payments to teachers working in Basic Education Community Schools.
Officials said the funds would cover salary differentials following court directives requiring the government to align teachers’ wages with the notified minimum wage for the period from August 2017 to June 2021.
In higher education, the committee approved an exemption from the relending conditions for an additional $4 million allocated to the Higher Education Commission under the Higher Education Development in Pakistan Project.
The adjustment followed a restructuring of the project by the World Bank, which increased the commission’s share in the technical assistance component beyond the previously exempted $77 million.
The cabinet committee also approved the Rs 3.63 billion requested by the National Disaster Management Authority. NDMA would reimburse expenditures incurred during the 2025 monsoon response operations and overseas humanitarian assistance missions.
In the power sector, the committee approved Rs 1.3 billion for projects under the Sustainable Development Goals Achievement Programme for the fiscal year 2025–26.
It also endorsed a broader reform package proposed by the Power Division aimed at reducing electricity generation costs. The package is also for addressing legacy payment obligations and easing financial pressures caused by circular debt in Pakistan’s power sector.
Officials told the meeting that the measures emerged from negotiations with several independent power producers. These reforms are designed to rationalise tariff structures, streamline payment arrangements and settle outstanding liabilities through mutually agreed financial adjustments.
Separately, the committee reviewed a request from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for Rs 2.231 billion to clear outstanding liabilities linked to federal public information campaigns.
The committee approved Rs 1.47 billion of the request and directed the ministry to submit the remaining requirement in the next quarter.
The meeting was attended by Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik, Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Investment Minister Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, along with senior officials from relevant ministries and regulatory bodies.
