Islamabad:Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced that his government is implementing effective measures to facilitate the business community and remove unnecessary regulations.
According to Radio Pakistan, the Prime Minister chaired a meeting focused on regulatory reforms to improve ease of doing business. He emphasized the importance of regulatory reforms in promoting investment and noted that the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan has already been modernized through such efforts. He urged similar initiatives across other regulatory bodies.
The Prime Minister directed the creation of a comprehensive regulatory registry to consolidate all regulatory requirements in the country. Additionally, he called for the nationwide enforcement of the Ease of Doing Business Act to harmonize regulatory systems among provinces and provide uniform business facilities.
Shehbaz Sharif advocated for third-party validation of these reforms to independently assess their impact. He stressed the importance of providing a conducive business environment to achieve targets for domestic and foreign investment.
He instructed the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) to highlight these reforms and ensure that the business community is informed and benefits from the provided facilities. He also tasked his Adviser on Industries, Haroon Akhtar Khan, with leading a delegation to engage with provincial governments on these reforms.
The Prime Minister mandated timely implementation of Cabinet-approved reforms by all ministries and divisions. He also set a deadline for completing the integration of eBiz Punjab and BFC Islamabad by March next year.
During the meeting, it was revealed that the Business Facilitation Centre is being modernized following the Punjab government's E-BIZ model. Simplifications of the Export and Import Policy Orders are underway, and the SIFC is collaborating with all provinces, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, on regulatory reforms.
The Cabinet's Regulatory Reforms Committee has approved 557 reforms across seven sectors, which are expected to save 460 billion rupees annually. Processing has begun on 8,717 applications received through Business Facilitation Centres, with 71 percent completed. The Islamabad Business Facilitation Centre has already assisted 4,612 new businesses.
The SIFC is focusing not only on regulatory reforms but also on policy governance and institutional reforms.