ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCOP) has approved 24 entities for the Privatization Program 2024-29 and decided that the inclusion of other state-owned entities (SOEs) will be made upon completion of a review about their categorization as strategic or essential enterprises, Pakistani state media reported on Friday.
Pakistan, which has been facing low foreign exchange reserves, currency devaluation and high inflation, this month reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new $7 billion loan.
Under the last $3 billion bailout package from the IMF that was critical in averting a sovereign debt default last year, the lender had said SOEs whose losses were burning a hole in government finances needed stronger governance.
On Friday, officials presented the CCOP with the five-year, phased privatization program by the Ministry of Privatization, and the committee considered 84 SOEs fr privatization after deliberating on the policy guidelines.
“The CCOP recommended that priority should be accorded to reducing the federal footprint in commercial space and limiting it to the strategic and essential SOEs only,” the state-run APP news agency reported. “CCOP emphasized that even SOEs making profits would also be considered for privatization.”
Among the main entities Pakistan is pushing to privatize is its national flag carrier, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). The government is putting on the block a stake ranging from 51 percent to 100 percent.
The CCOP decided that the entities not categorized as “strategic” or “essential” would be placed before it for a decision regarding their inclusion in the privatization program, according to the report.
In his concluding remarks, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar reaffirmed the government’s commitment to implementing the privatization program with “transparency, efficiency and whole-of-government approach,” stressing the importance of support and cooperation from all stakeholders.
Pakistan approves 24 loss-making state entities for privatization program
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Pakistan approves 24 loss-making state entities for privatization program
- Pakistan this month reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund for a new $7 billion loan
- Under the last deal, the lender had said loss-making Pakistani state entities needed stronger governance
Bangladesh leader pushes for SAARC revival after meeting Indian, Pakistani dignitaries
- Muhammad Yunus met Pakistan’s parliamentary speaker, Indian FM at Khaleda Zia’s funeral on Wednesday
- SAARC has been dysfunctional since 2016, after India withdrew following a militant attack it blamed on Islamabad
ISLAMABAD: Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Younus this week pushed for reviving the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) platform after meeting dignitaries from India, Pakistan and other parts of the region.
SAARC has been effectively dysfunctional since 2016, when its planned Islamabad summit collapsed after India withdrew following a militant attack it blamed on Pakistan. Islamabad denied involvement, but New Delhi’s decision prompted Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan to pull out, leading to the indefinite postponement of the summit.
Younus met Pakistan’s National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar at former Bangladesh premier Khaleda Zia’s state funeral in Dhaka on Wednesday. The funeral also saw a handshake between the Indian and Pakistani representatives, the first high-level contact between officials of the two countries since their conflict in May.
“During the meetings, Professor Yunus repeatedly emphasized the need to revive the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC),” Yunus’ account on social media platform X said.
“We witnessed a true SAARC spirit at the funeral yesterday,” the account quoted Yunus as saying. “SAARC is still alive. The SAARC spirit is still alive.”
The Bangladesh leader said apart from Jaishankar and Sadiq, representatives from South Asia who attended the funeral included Nepal’s Foreign Minister Bala Nanda Sharma, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Employment and Tourism Vijitha Herath, and Maldives Minister of Higher Education and Labor Ali Haider Ahmed.
Yunus said he tried to convene an informal gathering of SAARC leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York last year.
His statement to revive SAARC follows that of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who earlier this month also called for reviving the South Asian platform.
Sharif’s message last month came as the bloc marked the 40th anniversary of its founding charter. The Pakistani premier stressed the importance of deeper economic collaboration and collective responses to shared regional challenges such as poverty, climate-induced natural disasters, food and energy insecurity, and public-health vulnerabilities.
