ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar approved on Wednesday immediate release of 85,000 tons of wheat for the displaced people of Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to cater to their needs forthe period from June to September.

According to the finance ministry, it was one of those rare occasions when the minister used his authority for granting anticipatory approval keeping in view the urgency of wheat requirement of thousands of displaced people for whom the available stock isnearing exhaustion.

The decision was taken on a proposal from the ministry of states and frontier regions.

A consignment of 85,000 tons of wheat will be handed over to the United Nations World Food Programme for distribution among the displaced people.

The finance ministry saidthe minister had given the anticipatory approval because the proposal was notontheagendaofthelast meeting of the cabinet`s Economic Coordination Committee, held on May 21, and soliciting the approval during the next meeting would have considerably delayed release of the wheat.