PM directs early rollout of ease of doing business law

ISLAMABAD: In a push to revive investor confidence and ease the burden on businesses, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday directed officials to speed up the rollout of the Ease of Doing Business Act, 2025, saying a more competitive business climate to attract domestic and foreign investment remained one of the government’s top priorities.

Chairing a high-level review meeting on measures to improve the ease of doing business, the prime minister also ordered the preparation of a comprehensive implementation report and directed that the reforms be independently assessed by international organisations to gauge their effectiveness.

In a detailed briefing to the prime minister, officials said that work had been completed on 558 reforms aimed at streamlining regulations, reducing paperwork and simplifying approval procedures for businesses.

They said 71 policy measures had already been implemented, while another 272 were under implementation as part of a seven-phase reform programme spanning multiple sectors.

According to the briefing, the reforms are expected to generate estimated savings of Rs468.7 billion for the business community by reducing compliance with regulatory requirements and conditions.

Officials said the measures would help boost exports, attract higher levels of foreign direct investment (FDI) and create new employment opportunities by simplifying regulations and eliminating unnecessary procedural requirements.

PM Shehbaz directed that the performance evaluations of officials in relevant institutions should give significant weight to their implementation of ease-of-doing-business reforms and the employment generated through those measures.

He also praised the Ministry of Law and Justice, the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), the Board of Investment, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Industries and Production, and other institutions for their role in drafting the legislation and formulating policies to improve the country’s investment climate.

The meeting reviewed progress on the reform programme and discussed the roadmap for its next phase.

The Ease of Doing Business Act, 2025 is intended to simplify the way businesses interact with the government by reducing regulatory requirements and digitising public services.

The law also sets deadlines for official decisions and, in certain cases, treats applications as approved if authorities fail to respond within the prescribed period.

The government says the legislation will lower the cost of doing business, improve regulatory certainty and make Pakistan a more attractive destination for investment.

The meeting was attended by Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan, Investment Minister Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, Law and Justice Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Cheema, Health Minister Mustafa Kamal, Minister of State for Finance Bilal Kayani, Prime Minister’s Adviser Muhammad Ali, Special Assistant Haroon Akhtar, Attorney General Mansoor Awan and senior government officials.

State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad, the chief secretaries of the four provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, as well as internationally recognised experts, participated via video link.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026