By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The country’s economic decision-making body cleared 6.6 billion rupees to buy 30 bulletproof vehicles for next year’s Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, scaling back a request that was nearly double that size, according to a finance ministry statement on Monday.
The Economic Coordination Committee, chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, trimmed the Cabinet Division’s original ask of 12.6 billion rupees for more than 50 armoured vehicles needed to ferry heads of state when Pakistan hosts the summit in September 2027. The panel told the Cabinet Division to return with a more detailed needs assessment if it requires additional funds later.
The SCO summit will mark one of Pakistan’s most significant diplomatic showcases in years, bringing together leaders from a bloc that includes China, Russia and India. Islamabad has been ramping up security and logistical planning well ahead of the gathering.
The committee also moved to shore up fertiliser supplies domestically, approving continued natural gas deliveries to Fatima Fertiliser and Agritech through Sept. 30 under existing terms. The extension addresses a supply gap created by tight availability of imported liquefied natural gas, and is aimed at keeping fertiliser output steady as Pakistan’s agricultural sector heads into a critical stretch of the season.
In a separate decision, the ECC signed off on exports of donkey meat and hides from the Gwadar Free Zone to China, following recommendations from a committee formed to address the issue. The Ministry of National Food Security and Research has floated plans to build farmhouses for raising donkeys and dedicated slaughter facilities in Gwadar, positioning the port city as a hub for the trade.
The move taps into rising Chinese demand for donkey hides, which are used to produce ejiao, a traditional gelatin-based remedy. Pakistani officials see the potential for meaningful export earnings from formalising the trade, which has also been dogged by smuggling — authorities have previously intercepted attempts to move hides illicitly from African countries into China.
Not every proposal cleared the committee. Officials rejected a food security ministry submission on minimum indicative prices for tobacco and revised cess rates for the 2026-27 crop year, calling the justification insufficient. The ministry has been directed to resubmit with more rigorous analysis.
Elsewhere, the ECC approved 5 billion rupees in seed funding for the Daanish Schools Authority Fund, to be held under an endowment structure at the request of the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training. The committee also reviewed the Pakistan Skills Impact Bond, a program backed by a government guarantee, and gave the education ministry until Sept. 30 to demonstrate substantive progress.
Monday’s meeting drew several senior cabinet officials, including Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Food Security Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain, Investment Minister Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik and Haroon Akhtar Khan, the prime minister’s adviser on industries and production, along with federal secretaries and officials from relevant regulatory bodies.
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