ISLAMABAD
The government plans to shut down or privatize certain institutions affiliated with the Ministry of Information Technology & Telecommunication . According to media reports, the Ministry of Information Technology has been directed to shut down the Telecom Foundation and privatize its subsidiaries following instructions from the Institutional Reforms Committee (IRC).
The National Information Technology Board (NITB) will undergo substantial restructuring to streamline operations, partnering with private service providers and adopting an outsourced model. The Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) has been tasked with boosting its revenue to at least Rs1 billion, aiming to reduce dependence on government funding while occasionally seeking support from the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).
The IRC has decided to maintain the operations of the Virtual University, Universal Service Fund, and Ignite, but plans to gradually introduce private sector involvement once market inefficiencies are addressed. The IT ministry has been asked to provide a detailed implementation plan in accordance with these directives.
Previously, there were talks about completely closing the IT ministry. However, telecom companies strongly opposed this move, emphasizing the ministry’s role as a vital intermediary for industry concerns. As a result, the government decided to close certain departments within the telecom ministry instead.
Earlier, a cabinet committee had considered closing five ministries—Information Technology and Telecommunication, Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, States and Frontier Region Division (SAFRON), Industries and Production, and National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination—as part of a broader plan to streamline the federal government and state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The committee explored options like retaining, closing, modifying, or transferring these ministries to provincial governments.
[16:07, 06/08/2024] Faisal Shaikh: The government has decided to postpone the privatization of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and will keep the EXIM Bank under state ownership .(FAISAL SHEIKH) The government has postponed the privatization of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) due to a legal hurdle, despite earlier commitments to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to remove the special status of seven state-owned firms, including NBP.
“The Cabinet Committee approved that the National Bank of Pakistan, being part of the Sovereign Welfare Fund, is exempted from the SOE Act 2003 and hence not required to be categorized,” stated the Ministry of Finance.
Additionally, the committee has decided to retain the EXIM Bank in the public sector by classifying it as an essential State-Owned Enterprise (SOE). Under the Pakistan Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, companies managed by the fund are exempt from the SOE Act of 2023. Nevertheless, Section 50 of the Act specifically exempts these firms from the SOE law.
To reach a staff-level agreement with the IMF, the government had agreed last month to amend the Pakistan Sovereign Wealth Act, which would strip the NBP and six other profitable entities of their special status. These entities include the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), Mari Petroleum, National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Pakistan Development Fund, Government Holdings (Private) Limited, and Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Company.
As a major concession, Pakistan agreed to eliminate Section 50 from the PSWF Act by the end of December, thereby bringing these seven firms under the SOE Act 2023. The amended law will explicitly state that all government-owned entities are subject to the SOE Act and SOE Policy. Pakistan has also committed to revising all relevant sections of the law related to the objectives, operations, governance, sources of revenue, withdrawal of funds, and public asset management of the wealth fund.
