Pakistan’s regulatory frameworks across major economic sectors remain outdated and urgently require reform to match rapidly evolving markets, said Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) Chairman Dr. Kabir Sidhu on Wednesday. Speaking at a CCP lecture series on competition law, Dr. Sidhu highlighted that the CCP’s Centre of Excellence is conducting sectoral studies to identify regulatory gaps, market inefficiencies, and provide evidence-based recommendations. Over fifteen key sectors, including LNG, power, sugar, insurance, fertiliser, road infrastructure, and gold, have already been analysed.
Air Marshal Javaid Ahmed (Retd), president of the Centre for Aerospace and Security Studies (CASS), emphasised Pakistan’s strong aeronautical capabilities, noting that the country could soon manufacture a passenger aircraft given its advanced fighter aircraft ecosystem. However, he stressed that the aviation sector requires urgent modernisation to boost tourism, cargo movement, technology development, skilled employment, and national security. Challenges include high operational costs, weak governance, security constraints, sectoral inefficiencies, limited private sector participation, and shortage of skilled workforce.
Dr. Usman W. Chohan, Advisor CASS, highlighted that aviation currently contributes $5.6 billion to GDP (1.7%), supports 684,000 jobs, and served 22 million passengers in 2023. Under the National Aviation Policy 2023, market revenue is projected to grow from $6.04 billion in 2025 to $8.17 billion by 2030, with passenger numbers rising to 48.5 million. Modern regulatory frameworks are critical for Pakistan to unlock this sector’s full economic potential.
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