ECC’s approval of Rs 7.3 biln as wheat subsidy to GB is a tremendous move: Amir Muqam

ISLAMABAD, April 05 (SABAH): Federal Minister for Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan Affairs, Engineer Amir Muqam has said that the approval of Rs 7.3 billion as a wheat subsidy for the people of Gilgit-Baltistan in the recent meeting of the Economic Coordination Council (ECC) is a marvelous move and said that the federal government of Muslim League-N As soon as the government came to power, it had completely eliminated the crisis situation regarding wheat subsidy in Gilgit-Baltistan. He said that in the financial year 2023-24, a total amount of Rs. 16.73 billion was required for subsidy in Gilgit-Baltistan, while only Rs. 9.5 billion was allocated in the budget for subsidy in view of the tough economic situation.

Amir Muqam said that there was an uncertain situation in Gilgit-Baltistan due to the non-availability of the remaining amount, taking notice of which Muslim League leader Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif issued instructions for an instantaneous solution to this issue. He said that 9.5 billion rupees had already been released in the form of subsidy, while ECC had approved to release another 7.3 billion rupees and the remaining three billion rupees would be collected by the government of Gilgit-Baltistan in the form of sale proceeds, the issue of wheat subsidy had been fully resolved by FY 23-24.

Engineer Amir Muqam further said that PML-N leader Muhammad Nawaz Sharif had always considered the region of Azad Kashmir & Gilgit-Baltistan very close to his heart, which is a clear proof of the presence of several mega projects completed in these areas. He further said that Nawaz Sharif had always declared Gilgit-Baltistan as the base camp of CPEC and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would try his best to fulfill his vision. He said that the prosperity of Gilgit-Baltistan is actually the prosperity of Pakistan and with the government’s initiatives in the fields of CPEC and tourism, Gilgit-Baltistan would play a very key role in the economic development of Pakistan in the coming days.