The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on Tuesday approved several significant grants related to Pakistan’s security and defence.

​According to the Finance Ministry, the ECC meeting, chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, sanctioned crucial technical supplementary grants to strengthen defence capabilities, border management, and internal security.

​A technical supplementary grant of PKR 50 billion was approved for defence services projects.

​A grant of PKR 100.3 million was sanctioned for the maintenance of defence equipment for the Federal Civil Armed Forces.

​An additional technical supplementary grant of PKR 841.56 million was approved for improved border management, internal security, and law and order.

​The ECC also decided to establish a new Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) with an initial paid-up capital of PKR 1 million to handle the affairs of the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO). Furthermore, measures were approved to incentivize foreign participation in offshore oil and gas exploration.

​Separately, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb held a meeting with a high-level delegation from “Dialogue,” a network founded by tech entrepreneurs Peter Thiel and Oren Hoffman.

​During the meeting, the Finance Minister highlighted Pakistan’s ongoing economic reforms. He emphasized the government’s focus on tax reforms, restructuring the energy sector, privatization of state-owned enterprises, and improvements in governance.

​He stated that the government is utilizing technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to bring under-taxed sectors like real estate, agriculture, and wholesale/retail into the formal tax net. The Minister also discussed pension reforms and measures being taken to reduce losses in electricity distribution companies.