The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of Pakistan approved a request of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to allocate funds of 42.528 billion rupees (over 149 million U.S. dollars) for the forthcoming general elections, the finance ministry said in a statement.

The committee allocated 10 billion rupees on Thursday, while the remaining money will be allocated in phases according to the requirement of the ECP, the statement added.

The general elections are likely to be held in November this year in the country, according to the statements by the two key coalition partners, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) of the ruling government of the country.

In addition, the ECC considered a summary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting regarding charging electricity rates to cinema houses. "To revive the film industry in Pakistan, the ECC approved the proposal that cinemas may be charged electricity as per rates admissible to the industry," the statement added.

The ECC also considered a summary of the Ministry of Commerce regarding the export of vegetable oil from export processing zones to Afghanistan through a land route, the statement added.

Source: Xinhua Finance Agency