• Muhammad Ali claims CCI nod not required, says Discos caused over $30bn in losses over 15 years
• Panel seeks records of council’s decisions, other consultations
• Questions Rs2.6tr federal spending on devolved subjects
ISLAMABAD: The proposed privatisation of power distribution companies (Discos) stirred controversy on Wednesday, as a Senate panel maintained that the matter constitutionally fell within the domain of the Council of Common Interests (CCI), while the government’s top privatisation official insisted that no fresh CCI approval was required.
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Privatisation Muhammad Ali told a subcommittee of the Senate Functional Committee on Devolution that no new CCI approval was needed for the privatisation of Discos. He added that the companies had caused losses of more than $30 billion over the past 15 years.He said the CCI had approved the privatisation of three power generation companies and nine distribution companies in 2011. It also approved the National Electricity Policy on June 21, 2021, which recommended that the government explore various privatisation options to improve the efficiency of state-owned entities where applicable. Both decisions remained valid, he said.
On the validity of the decisions, the law division, in a Sept 25, 2026 letter, reconfirmed that in light of the 2011 CCI decision, fresh approval was not required for the privatisation of Discos.
