PRL chairman Tariq Kirmani resigns on health grounds as refinery upgrade continues

Tariq Kirmani has resigned as chairman and independent director of Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL), citing health grounds, with effect from Friday 9 October 2026. The company disclosed the resignation in a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Monday 12 October, ProPakistani reported.

The filing did not name a successor. A listed company's board normally fills such a vacancy and picks a new chairman itself, and PRL is required to disclose both to the PSX when it does.

Who is Tariq Kirmani

Kirmani was elected PRL chairman in October 2023, when the refinery chose its board for the 2023 to 2026 term. His career runs to more than five decades:

• 1969: joined Caltex, now Chevron Pakistan, and later held senior management roles in the United States, the UAE and Australia.
• 1999: joined Pakistan State Oil, becoming its managing director and chief executive in 2001.
• 2005: appointed to head Pakistan International Airlines.

Why PRL matters

Pakistan Refinery, set up in 1960, is a PSO subsidiary that runs a refinery at Korangi Creek in Karachi with capacity of about 50,000 barrels of crude a day. It is in the middle of its Refinery Expansion and Upgrade Project, which aims to double capacity to 100,000 barrels a day and produce cleaner fuels.

The change at the top of the board comes while that project is still under way.

What it means for investors

PRL shares trade on the PSX under the symbol PRL. A chairman's resignation on health grounds does not by itself change the company's plans, but investors will watch for the board's choice of successor and any update on the upgrade timeline. You can follow the broader market on our KSE-100 page. If you hold shares and sell at a profit, our capital gains tax calculator works out the tax.