Govt moves to shut down Utility Stores Corporation

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet has announced its decision to halt operations of the Utility Stores Corporation (USC), Pakistan’s state-run retail chain, marking a significant shift in the government’s approach to managing state-owned enterprises.

A seven-member “Cabinet Committee on the Closure of Operations of Utility Stores Corporation” has been established to oversee its closure process, with Federal Minister for Industry and Production appointed as its head. The committee includes high-ranking officials such as Minister of State for Finance and Revenue, Minister of State for Information Technology, Federal Secretary of Finance, Secretary Privatization, Secretary Benazir Income Support Programme and Secretary of Industry and Production.

On Tuesday, the Cabinet Division issued a notification mentioning the committee’s Terms of Reference (ToRs) that include “to determine the modalities for the immediate closure of the operations of the Utility Stores Corporation.” It mandates the submission of a comprehensive report to the cabinet on the process within seven days.

“The committee will support arrangements for the placement of permanent human resources of the Utility Stores Corporation in the surplus pool or absorption against existing vacancies in other federal government organizations,” the statement read. The committee will also determine the arrangements for the safekeeping and maintenance of assets and property owned by the Utility Stores Corporation, pending its privatization.