Pakistan tasks SIFC with leading regulatory reforms

The Pakistani federal government has assigned the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) a leading role in driving regulatory reforms intended to improve the country’s business environment. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has tasked the SIFC with spearheading these efforts, utilizing its whole-of-government coordination mechanism to overcome previous institutional bottlenecks and coordination challenges.

A central component of the initiative is the ‘regulatory guillotine,’ which involves reviewing existing regulations to eliminate outdated, redundant, or unnecessary requirements that increase compliance costs for businesses. The reforms will specifically target the simplification of licensing procedures and the reduction of administrative paperwork to streamline business operations.

While the reform framework was originally launched by the Board of Investment (BoI), implementation had previously faced delays. By empowering the SIFC, the government aims to create a more predictable and efficient regulatory landscape to attract both domestic and foreign investment.