ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan reconstituted the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the federal cabinet and appointed Economic Affairs Minister Omar Ayub the head of the committee.
The ECC has been reconstituted to circumvent a court judgment that bars unelected members from heading cabinet committees. Adviser on Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin has been appointed the head of a sub-committee of the ECC so that he remains part of the decision-making process.
The PTI government had recently notified Shaukat Tarin as Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue after failing to get him elected as Senator to retain him as federal minister. Tarin’s six-month tenure as federal minister ended on October 16.
As advisor to prime minister, Shaukat Tarin will not be able to chair the meetings of Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) and other cabinet committees. The Islamabad High Court had ruled that unelected advisers and special assistants could not head cabinet committees.
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Tarin was the chairman of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), Cabinet Committee on Privatisation, Cabinet Committee on State-owned Enterprises, and Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC).
According to a notification issued by the Cabinet Division, Shaukat Tarin the head of a sub-committee of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC). Tarin is not a member of the ECC and his name is among 22 special invitees, revealed the notification.
Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Omar Ayub has chaired the ECC’s meeting on Thursday but no agenda was discussed. Ayub decided to constitute a sub-committee of the ECC under the chairmanship of Tarin. He said that all summaries of the ECC would first go to the committee and the ECC would stamp the decisions following its approval,
A notification, under Article 17(2) of the Rules of Business, 1973, issued by the Cabinet Secretariat earlier in the day revealed the new composition of the committee. It comprises the following 11 members, apart from the chairperson. Twenty-two other departments, including the commerce and economic affair divisions, can attend ECC meetings on special invitations.
