The Cabinet Committee on State-owned Enterprises (CCoSOEs) has raised alarm over persistent audit delays by several state-owned entities and issued a directive for immediate initiation of long-overdue financial audits, according to a statement issued by the Finance Division on Tuesday.
The meeting, chaired by Federal Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb, instructed the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) to investigate these lapses and submit its findings along with actionable recommendations to the committee in the coming weeks.
The committee’s agenda also included updates on the ongoing privatization drive, which has seen limited progress despite years of government pledges. No entities were successfully privatized during the 2024–25 fiscal year. However, recent developments signal movement on the long-stalled Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) deal.
Earlier this month, the government approved four potential bidders for a majority stake in the debt-laden national carrier, with the aim of offloading 51% to 100% of its shares. The move aligns with Pakistan’s commitment to reform loss-making SOEs under the $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. If completed, it would mark the country’s first major privatization in nearly 20 years.
One of the approved bidding consortia includes major industrial players: Lucky Cement, Hub Power Holdings, Kohat Cement, and Metro Ventures. This follows a failed privatization attempt in 2024, when the government received only a single offer—well below the $300 million valuation.
In other decisions, the committee approved a proposal from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for the appointment of independent directors to the Boards of Pakistan Television Corporation (PTVC) and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC). Each board will now include six new members. Those approved for PTVC are Ishtiaq Baig, Yasir S. Qureshi, Dr. Asghar Nadeem Syed, Tasneem Rehman, Leyla Zuberi, and Khalid Mehmood Khan. For the PBC Board, the appointees are Sadia Khan, Jehangir Khan, Sadiqa Sultan, Nasira Azim Khan, Khan Bibi, and Nadeem Haider Kiyani.
The committee also cleared a proposal from the Ministry of Industries and Production to reconstitute the Board of Directors of Agro Food Processing Facilities. Four independent directors were nominated: Hasnain Nawaz Khan, Shahid Mehmood Sahu, Ahsan Mustafa Bajwa, and Ghulam Jaffar Junejo. Additionally, three ex-officio members will join the board, and Hasnain Nawaz Khan was approved as Chairman.
The Ministry of Maritime Affairs presented a revised Procurement Policy for the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC), which the committee reviewed and approved with suggestions for refinement. Officials noted that the PNSC is the first SOE to develop a customized procurement framework aligned with its operational needs.
Further approvals included the acceptance of the resignation of the Vice President of the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC), effective March 25, 2025. The official had been appointed by the Federal Cabinet in May 2024 and resigned for personal reasons.
The committee also endorsed the appointment of new directors and members to the Board of the National Disaster Risk Management Fund (NDRMF), as recommended by the Ministry of Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives.
In a significant move, the committee approved a proposal from the Strategic Plans Division to exempt all SPD entities from the reporting obligations under the Ministry of Finance and to exclude them from the State-Owned Enterprises Act and Policy of 2023. The exemption was granted due to the sensitive and security-related nature of their operations, the Finance Division said.
