SIFC delegation in Peshawar pushes business reform, SEZ upgrades
The council's director general and secretary met Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's chief secretary and the city's chambers of commerce to review the Asaan Karobar Act rollout and three industrial zones.
A delegation of the Special Investment Facilitation Council led by its director general and secretary visited Peshawar for meetings with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and the city's business community on regulatory reform and investment, ARY News and the Associated Press of Pakistan reported.
The delegation met the provincial chief secretary to discuss coordinated measures for improving the business environment, facilitating investment and promoting industrial development, ARY News reported, citing a council press release. The council briefed him on its reform agenda, with particular focus on implementing the Asaan Karobar Act, developing a National Business Portal and establishing Business Facilitation Centres.
The three measures are intended to simplify business registration and licensing, reduce procedural hurdles and give investors and entrepreneurs streamlined access to government facilitation services. The provincial government was commended at the meeting for adopting the Asaan Karobar Act.
The talks also covered the development of key special economic zones in the province, particularly Hattar, Rashakai and Daraban. Discussions covered infrastructure, operational efficiency and investment readiness, with the aim of attracting new enterprises, encouraging private-sector participation, raising industrial activity and generating employment.
The chief secretary was quoted as appreciating the council's coordinating role in investment facilitation and regulatory reform, and assured the delegation of the provincial government's full cooperation. Both sides stressed sustained institutional coordination and implementation of the agreed measures.
APP reported separately that the director general held an interactive meeting with representatives of chambers of commerce in Peshawar on the challenges facing the business community. In that meeting, according to APP, he gave a detailed briefing on the council's mandate, institutional role and ongoing initiatives to facilitate investment. APP's report did not name the chief secretary or the specific reform measures discussed with the provincial government.
The council said it is working with provincial governments under the prime minister's directives to simplify regulatory procedures and improve institutional coordination across the country, bringing federal and provincial stakeholders together to address procedural impediments and create a more predictable operating environment for domestic and international investors.
How the reports differ
APP reported an interactive meeting between the SIFC director general and representatives of Peshawar's chambers of commerce, and carried his briefing on the council's mandate and initiatives, without mentioning the chief secretary. ARY News led on the delegation's meeting with the KP chief secretary, citing a council press release, and named the Asaan Karobar Act, the National Business Portal, the Business Facilitation Centres and the Hattar, Rashakai and Daraban zones. The two reports describe the same Peshawar visit but cover different meetings and give different levels of detail on the reform agenda.
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