Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif held a meeting on Friday regarding regulatory reforms, reviewing measures taken to facilitate business activities, promote investment, and make the regulatory system more effective, transparent and business friendly. The Prime Minister said regulatory reforms are indispensable for facilitating business activities and promoting investment, noting that the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan has been modernized through reforms and that similar changes should be extended to other regulatory institutions.
The Prime Minister directed that a regulatory registry be established so that all regulatory requirements and rules existing in the country could be compiled under a single comprehensive system. He said the Ease of Doing Business Act should be implemented across the country to create harmony in the regulatory system across provinces and ensure business people are provided equal facilities. He also ordered third party validation of these reforms to assess their impact and effectiveness, so the practical results could be impartially evaluated rather than relying solely on internal government assessment.
Describing ease of doing business as fundamental importance for the promotion of investment, the Prime Minister directed that regulatory reforms carried out by the Special Investment Facilitation Council be effectively highlighted so the business community is aware of them and can benefit fully. He said a delegation from SIFC should visit all provinces to take provincial governments into confidence about the reform process, aiming to create harmony in business facilitation and regulation nationwide. Adviser on Industries Haroon Akhtar Khan was directed to lead this delegation and ensure effective coordination with provincial governments. The Prime Minister also directed SIFC and the Chief Secretary Punjab to complete the merger of eBiz Punjab and BFC Islamabad by March 2027, giving the initiative a firm deadline.
The meeting was briefed on several ongoing government initiatives, including modernization of the Business Facilitation Center along the lines of the Punjab government’s E-BIZ system, along with simplification of the Export Policy Order and Import Policy Order. SIFC is in touch with all provinces, including Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, regarding regulatory reforms. The Cabinet’s Regulatory Reforms Committee has approved 557 reforms across seven sectors, expected to save Rs 460 billion annually, while 8,717 applications were initiated through the Business Facilitation Center, with 71 percent completed and 4,612 new businesses facilitated through the Islamabad centre. The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazir Tarar, Federal Minister for Climate Change Musadik Malik, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Industries Haroon Akhtar, and Minister for Finance and Railways Bilal Azhar Kayani, among other senior officials.
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