Caretaker govt wields legal power to fast-track SOE privatization

September 22, 2023 (MLN): The caretaker government is fully empowered under law to expedite the process for privatization of loss-making state-owned enterprises (SOEs), initiated way back in 2001-02, Caretaker Minister for Privatization Fawad Hassan Fawad said on Thursday while addressing a news conference along with Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi.

He clarified that no addition was made to the privatization list, which was updated by the last successive elected governments.

The previous elected government had made necessary amendments in the relevant law empowering the caretakers to carry forward the privatization process, he added.

He reaffirmed that whatever authority the caretaker government is exercising is within the ambit of law, as it is only completing the privatization process of SOEs, which was initiated by the last government but their transactions were not yet finalized.

The minister said that a time frame was duly fixed to carry out the privatization of each loss-making entity that could not be skipped.

He, however, dispelled the impression that he had been given a special task to shut down the operations of a certain organization.

The minister advised certain elements to avoid rumours which adversely affected the financial performance and repute of state-owned enterprises listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange.

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