LAHORE: Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Monday offered technical assistance to the federal government for digitising business processes, as a special committee led by Prime Minister’s Adviser on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan met her to discuss reforms aimed at improving the ease of doing business.
The meeting also attended by Prime Minister’s Coordinator on Commerce Ehsan Afzal Khan reviewed measures to promote investment, facilitate businesses and accelerate industrial growth.
The federal reform committee praised the Punjab government’s initiatives to attract investment and improve the business environment.
Haroon Akhtar Khan said Punjab had already implemented several measures recommended by the committee to facilitate businesses and promote industry. He appreciated the efforts of the chief minister and her team, saying their work was reflected in the province’s development projects.
Maryam said industrialisation was the fastest route to economic growth and stressed the need to promote local industries to generate employment. She said the provincial government was also revamping skills development programmes under a unified framework, with sector-specific training yielding positive results.
The chief minister said Punjab was expanding its tax base and improving revenue collection without imposing new taxes. She said the government was working to facilitate businesses while taking ground realities into account.
She said the province had completed cluster mapping and planned to develop hubs for cottage industries. “The government is also promoting livestock farming to increase meat exports and encouraging young people to start businesses through the Asaan Karobar Finance Scheme,” she said and expressed confidence in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s commitment to promoting investment and in the efforts of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) to improve the investment climate.
Officials informed the meeting that the scheme had provided Rs70 billion in interest-free loans, supporting 112,000 businesses.
Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2026
