Pakistan Postal Service deficit crosses over Rs10b

ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was informed on Tuesday that the Pakistan Postal Service (PPS) started facing deficit in 2011-12 and it doubled during the tenure of the current government.

The committee met here with Syed Khursheed Shah in the chair. The Pakistan Postal Service officials briefed the committee on the department’s financial position.

The officials of Pakistan Postal Service suggested an increase in the price of postal stamp from Rs8 to Rs40 to reduce deficit.

The committee was told that it was being considered that the department should be run through the public-private partnership rather than privatising it. It was told that work was in progress for over two years to run the department on a new business model.

The committee was told that the department earned over Rs400 million profit in 2009 but later it faced over Rs1.89 billion deficit which continued to increase.

The department’s expenditure increased to Rs20.5 billion in financial year 2016-17. The department earned Rs10.5 billion, while the deficit cross over Rs10 billion.