Islamabad, 2 October, 2026 (Kamran Raja): Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif chaired an important meeting on regulatory reforms in Islamabad and reviewed measures aimed at improving ease of doing business, promoting investment and making the regulatory system more effective, transparent and business-friendly. The prime minister said regulatory reforms were essential for facilitating business activities and attracting investment, adding that the government was taking measures to provide greater facilities to the business community and eliminate unnecessary regulations. He said the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) had been modernized through reforms and similar measures should be introduced in other regulatory bodies. The prime minister directed the establishment of a Regulatory Registry to compile all regulatory requirements, rules and regulations under a comprehensive system. He also directed that the Ease of Doing Business Act be implemented across the country to bring greater uniformity to the regulatory system and ensure consistent facilities for businesses in all provinces. He ordered third-party validation of the reforms to independently assess their practical impact and effectiveness. The prime minister directed that regulatory reforms undertaken by the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) be widely publicized so that the business community could benefit from the available facilities. He further directed an SIFC delegation to visit all provinces and take provincial governments into confidence on regulatory reforms. Advisor to the Prime Minister on Industries Haroon Akhtar Khan was directed to lead the delegation and ensure effective coordination with provincial governments.
The prime minister also instructed all ministries and divisions to ensure timely implementation of reforms approved by the Cabinet and directed SIFC and the Chief Secretary Punjab to complete the merger of eBiz Punjab and BFC Islamabad by March 2027. He emphasized that the reforms should provide tangible benefits to businesses and directed SIFC to work closely with the private sector and create greater awareness about available facilities. The meeting was briefed on various government initiatives for ease of doing business, including the modernization of the Business Facilitation Center on the model of Punjab government’s E-BIZ and the simplification of the Export Policy Order and Import Policy Order. Officials said SIFC was coordinating with all provinces, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, on regulatory reforms. The meeting was informed that the Cabinet’s Regulatory Reforms Committee had approved 557 reforms across seven multi-sector areas, which were expected to generate annual savings of Rs460 billion. Implementation had begun on 8,717 applications received through Business Facilitation Centers, with 71 percent already completed, while the Islamabad Business Facilitation Center had provided facilities to 4,612 new businesses. The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar, Federal Minister for Climate Change Musadik Malik, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecom Shaza Fatima, Prime Minister’s Advisor on Industries Haroon Akhtar Khan, Provincial Minister for Finance and Railways Bilal Azhar Kiani and senior government officials.