Islamabad: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Federal Cabinet on Monday approved a supplementary grant of Rs410 million in favor of the Ministry of Interior to maintain “law and order”.
A meeting of the ECC was chaired by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar that was also attended by Federal Ministers Tariq Bashir Cheema, Syed Naveed Qamar, and Makhdoom Syed Murtaza Mehmood, and Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Dr. Aisha Ghous Pasha, Federal Secretaries and other senior officials.
1,100 containers arranged to seal Islamabad ahead of PTI long march
A statement issued after the meeting by the Ministry of Finance read: “The ECC also approved Supplementary Grant of Rs. 410.181 million in favor of Ministry of Interior for expenses relating to law and order.”
According to reports, two summaries had been presented by the Interior Ministry to seek a budget for dealing with the PTI’s long march.
The ECC was apprised that Rs410.2 million was the estimated cost of preparations to deal with the protestors, including the deployment of a 30,000-strong force, their meal, transportation, anti-riot gear, and surveillance of the protestors.
Media reports suggest that the ECC then approved Rs259 million for hiring vehicles and containers, Rs35 million for food, Rs31.2 million for fuel costs, and Rs18 million for anti-riot gear. Rs2.5 million has been sanctioned for arranging residences for them for five days and another Rs64.4 million for the purchase and installation of security cameras and other related equipment.
