Minister for Privatisation Abdul Aleem Khan presented a five-year plan (2024-29) in the National Assembly on Thursday to privatise 24 state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in three phases, as reported by The News. The detailed plan, which included a full list of the entities slated for sale, was provided in a written reply to MNA Ramesh Lal.
The first phase of the plan targets the privatisation of 10 major public entities, including Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Roosevelt Hotel, Zarai Taraqiati Bank Ltd (ZTBL), and several electricity supply companies such as Iesco, Fesco, and Gepco.
The second phase, spanning one to three years, will see the privatisation of 13 more entities. This list includes State Life Insurance Corporation, Utility Stores Corporation, four generation companies (Gencos), and six more electricity distribution companies (Discos), such as Lesco and Mepco. The final phase, which will last three to five years, focuses on the privatisation of the Postal Life Insurance Company.
Separately, Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani announced to the National Assembly that the government plans to further reduce energy tariffs to lower input costs for exporters. In another written response, Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan disclosed that State Life Insurance Corporation has stopped providing health insurance services in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan due to the discontinuation of federal funding for these regions.
The session also saw a heated exchange when Speaker Ayaz Sadiq expressed strong disapproval of the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Planning and Development for their repeated failure to respond to parliamentary queries. Sadiq summoned the secretary finance and the governor of the State Bank, calling the ministries’ disregard for Parliament “unacceptable.” In a sign of protest, he ordered the joint secretary finance to leave the officers’ lobby and declared that such bureaucratic non-cooperation would no longer be tolerated.
