ISLAMABAD: Business heads and policymakers have demanded of the government to bring about coordinated regulatory reforms, harmonized standards and stronger accountability of regulatory institutions to reduce compliance burden on businesses operating across the federal and provincial jurisdictions of the country.
The demand was made at a session, titled: One Firm, Many Regulators: The Case for Regulatory Harmonization’, organized at the 29th Sustainable Development Conference by Sustainable Development Policy Institute here.
Farid Ahmad Tarar, Chairman, Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP), highlighted the difference between business facilitation initiatives and broader regulatory reforms. He said Asan Karobar initiative represents only one part of the wider reform agenda. He recalled that businesses previously had to file up to 16 tax returns in a month with different federal and provincial departments, leading to the establishment of a common forum to harmonize returns.
Dr Ishrat Husain, former Governor of State Bank, emphasized the importance of maintaining a balance between regulation, deregulation and over-regulation.
Dr Vaqar Ahmad, Economist, said Pakistan has made considerable progress and is not starting from zero. He noted that sector-specific discussions reflected greater space for dialogue on regulatory challenges. Sharing an example, he referred to an individual from Nepal who had received Pakistan’s online visa within 60 minutes, describing it as an indication of progress, although the pace of reform could be faster. He also encouraged stakeholders to read Dr Ishrat Husain’s reports on regulatory institutions and noted that startups were reporting easier online business registration, alongside improvements in filing and foreign direct investment systems.
Dr Irfan Chattha, Research Fellow at SDPI, noted that businesses expanding from one city or province to another face additional compliance requirements because of differences between federal and provincial jurisdictions. Referring to Article 151 of the Constitution, he described the multiplicity of regulations as a persistent challenge. He also highlighted the limited research estimating the additional costs arising from these differences.
Nadir Mumtaz, former Chairman of KPT, described the Asan Karobar Act 2025 as a positive step for recognizing hidden business costs. He highlighted the expenses involved in transporting goods from seaports to land borders across provinces. “Although Pakistan Single Window provides digital services, physical intervention by clearing agents remains necessary in some cases.”
Iqbal Sarwar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment and Trade, Asan Karobar Act provides for a digital portal and a Regulatory Reform Committee chaired by the Chief Minister, which can retain, simplify or remove regulations. He said 37 processes had been integrated, and the beta portal is ready for further integration. However, some regulators had bypassed the portal and returned to face-to-face interactions. Manual records and resistance to digitization also remained challenges. He noted that tourism and hospitality businesses may deal with 25 to 50 regulators.
Usman Khan, Economist, said regulation should create fair, transparent and competitive markets, while unequal application of rules creates market distortions. Citing an estimate of 1,003 federal and provincial regulators, he called for a centralized digital registry and risk-based regulation.
Adeel Ibrahim, representing the private sector, shared concerns about differences in environmental approvals, documentation, reporting and compliance procedures across provinces. He recommended common application formats, standardized documentation and coordinated reporting systems to enable authorities concerned to access documents submitted in other provinces.
Dr Muhammad Kamran Khan, University of Haripur, highlighting the gap between regulatory reform commitments and implementation. said a request to convene the KP Regulatory Reform Committee had been submitted in February 2026, but the meeting had not taken place by the time of the discussion. He called for delegated authority and stronger monitoring.
Asghar Nasar from SMEDA highlighted the unequal application of regulations and the multiplicity of regulatory authorities. He called for harmonization, mutual recognition and a centralized digital registry, and stressed that reforms should be institutionalized through legislation to ensure continuity and improve export competitiveness.
Rafay Khan said coordination between federal and provincial departments contributed to Pakistan improving its Doing Business ranking by 39 positions between 2016 and 2019. He noted that although the report was discontinued in 2019, the need for business regulatory reforms remained important beyond the reporting framework.
Asif Kareem, highlighted Sindh’s first end-to-end automated e-licensing portal, covering 150 services, developed with World Bank support. The portal enables online applications, processing, approvals and escalation. He called for inter-provincial harmonization, an interoperability framework for recognizing licenses issued by other provinces, digital information-sharing, AI-enabled regulatory guidance and performance indicators to improve transparency and accountability.
