Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has removed Investment Minister Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh as chairman of the Cabinet Committee on Regulatory Reforms, appointing the federal commerce minister as his replacement in a reshuffle aimed at accelerating the government’s Ease of Doing Business agenda.
According to a notification issued by the Cabinet Division, Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh has been removed from the committee entirely, losing both the chairmanship and his membership. The decision follows public remarks by Sheikh last month in which he said the prime minister was too busy to listen to his concerns and had not met him despite repeated requests.
The notification names Adviser to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan as co-chairman of the committee, while the Federal Minister for Information Technology and the Minister of State for Finance and Railways have also been inducted as members.
The Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) Division will serve as the committee’s secretariat, placing the regulatory-reform drive within the government’s investment facilitation architecture. The government has also finalized the committee’s terms of reference, giving it a formal mandate to simplify regulations and improve Pakistan’s business environment.
Under the revised mandate, the committee will review and approve regulatory reforms required under the Ease of Doing Business Act, and will examine proposals from the Board of Investment to abolish or amend laws, regulations and licensing requirements that weigh on investors and industry.
Its responsibilities also include forwarding recommendations to the federal cabinet for ratification, making policy decisions on the reform process, and monitoring progress to ensure timely implementation of approved measures. The committee must also ensure the timely establishment and operation of a legal registry as part of the regulatory reform process.
The reshuffle signals that the prime minister wants the regulatory-reforms committee fully aligned with the government’s investment push, and the new leadership is expected to begin reviewing pending Ease of Doing Business proposals in the coming weeks. The Cabinet Division’s notification takes effect immediately.
