Privatisation Commission and P3A to merge into one body under a new bill in the National Assembly

The government has tabled a bill in the National Assembly to merge the Privatisation Commission with the Public-Private Partnership Authority (P3A) into a single body, the Privatisation and Public-Private Partnership Commission, Dawn reported on 26 October 2026. ProPakistani also reported the move.

The stated aim is to stop two state bodies doing overlapping work on selling state companies and on projects built with private money.

What the bill does

• Amends the Privatisation Commission Ordinance 2000.
• Repeals the Public Private Partnership Authority Act 2017 and dissolves the P3A.
• Keeps Muhammad Ali, the current Privatisation Commission chairman, at the head of the new commission.
• Gives the board a majority of independent members, including people with PPP experience and at least two women, on fixed terms with clear grounds for removal.

The bill has been introduced, not passed. Dawn gave no date for a vote.

Four funds that do not lapse

The new commission would run four non-lapsable funds: a privatisation fund, a public contribution fund, a viability gap fund and PPP project development funds. Money can come from the federal budget, international lenders and investment income. The public contribution fund can pay for the government's side of a PPP deal, such as land acquisition, site handover and right of way.

Immunity for officials

Current and former chairmen, secretaries, board members, officials and consultants would be protected from legal action and investigation for acts done "in good faith", and public money would pay to defend such cases. This is the clause most likely to be argued over when the bill reaches committee.

Other changes

• PPP agreements become public documents, available to interested people subject to the law.
• Government agencies must list their existing, proposed and planned projects within 15 days of a written request, or the chairman can refer them to their ministry.
• All P3A contracts move to the new commission. P3A staff and consultants are kept for six months or until their contracts end, whichever comes first, on terms no worse than now.

Why it matters

Pakistan's privatisation list includes power distribution companies and other loss-making state firms whose losses end up in electricity bills and the budget. A single body with its own funds is meant to speed up both sales and PPP projects such as roads and hospitals. For how state losses feed into prices, see the inflation data page.