In actuality, the ECNEC is led by the finance minister; this was the case under the governments of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), when the ECNEC was led by Miftah Ismail and then Ishaq Dar.
As is customary, the ECNEC was led by the former Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar during the caretaker period.
The ECNEC will be led by the premier this time around, with participation from Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal, and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.
The ECNEC also lists Marriyum Aurangzeb, the senior minister of Punjab; Jam Khan Shoro, the minister of irrigation in Sindh; Muzamil Aslam, the provincial advisor on finance for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; and Shoaib Nosherwani, the minister of finance in Balochistan.
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The chief ministers of four provinces and Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif served as members of the National Economic Council (NEC), which was established earlier on June 7 by President Asif Ali Zardari.
As per the announcement released here, the NEC membership list also includes Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzaib, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, and Planning and Development Minister Ashan Iqbal.
The chief ministers of Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and Punjab, Maryam Nawaz, Ali Amin Gandapur, and Syed Murad Ali Shah, have also been informed as members.
The NEC now includes an additional representation from each province government in addition to the CMs. The NEC also names Marriyum Aurangzeb, Senior Minister of Punjab; Jam Khan Shoro, Minister of Irrigation in Sindh; Muzamil Aslam, Advisor on Finance for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; and Zahoor Ahmed Buledi, Minister of Planning and Development in Balochistan.