Pakistan’s Finance Minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, has raised alarms over the significant losses incurred by state-owned enterprises (SOEs), which have reportedly accumulated a staggering Rs 5.89 trillion in losses during the first half of the financial year 2024-2025. The revelation was made public through the Biannual Performance Report issued by the Finance Division.
Aurangzeb termed these figures as “alarming,” emphasizing the scale of the losses as detrimental to Pakistan’s financial health. During a Senate session on Tuesday, he noted that eight SOEs would be privatized within the year in an attempt to address the mounting financial strain.
According to Aurangzeb, last year’s national revenue was recorded at Rs 12 trillion, but approximately 50% of this was wiped out due to the massive losses of the SOEs. “This loss flow is unsustainable. The government is actively working on measures to reduce expenditure, such as pension reforms, to mitigate the financial burden,” he added.
The Finance Minister disclosed that 24 SOEs have been earmarked for privatization in three phases. “The Cabinet Committee on Privatization has already reviewed these entities, and the Privatisation Commission will take over the process. Eight SOEs will be privatized this year, while the remainder will follow in due course,” Aurangzeb explained.
He highlighted that the Sindh government’s public-private partnership model has been successful and that the government is now appointing chairpersons from the private sector to oversee the boards of directors of these SOEs to enhance efficiency. “The privatization of three distribution companies (DISCOs) has already yielded positive outcomes,” he said.
Furthermore, Aurangzeb revealed that the cabinet committees, led by him, are working on the restructuring and privatization plans for 43 ministries and 400 government departments.
Regarding accountability, the finance minister reassured that he regularly appears before the finance committees of the Senate and National Assembly to address concerns and provide updates.
In a separate development, the Senate passed the Anti-Dumping Duties (Amendment) Bill, 2025. The bill aims to exempt products imported for foreign grant-in-aid projects from paying anti-dumping duties, with retrospective effect from the fiscal year 2020-2021.
Meanwhile, opposition senators staged a walkout in protest over the convictions of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers by anti-terrorism courts (ATCs), following the 9 May riots. The Senate is currently without an opposition leader due to the conviction and disqualification of Shibli Faraz by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
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