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ISLAMABAD, Jan 22 (APP):The government on Thursday defended the role and functioning of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), telling the National Assembly that the body operates as a one-window platform for investors, follows constitutional and legal procedures, and has put in place safeguards to prevent any conflict of interest while facilitating millions of dollars in investment.
Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, responding to a question in the House, said the SIFC had established clear mechanisms to ensure transparency and to avoid any overlap of interests.
He added that institutional checks were in place to maintain credibility and accountability in the council’s operations.
He informed the House that investments worth millions of dollars had already been brought into the country through the SIFC across various sectors and were being channelled through a structured framework aimed at supporting economic growth and strengthening investor confidence.
However, he said that providing a sector-wise breakdown and details of the financial benefits involved technical aspects and would require a fresh question under parliamentary rules.
He assured members that complete information could be shared through the appropriate parliamentary forum.
Separately, Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Bilal Azhar Kayani told the House that the SIFC was functioning as a one-window facility to facilitate both local and foreign investors, streamline approvals and improve coordination among economic ministries, regulators and the business community.
Responding to a question raised by Sherry Rehman, he said the council played a key role not only in investment facilitation but also in aligning the work of economic ministries to ensure faster and more coherent decision-making.
He added that the SIFC maintained close engagement with the business community, including chambers of commerce, the Pakistan Business Council and the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), and that a meeting with business representatives had been held only last week to discuss investment facilitation and operational issues.
The minister said the SIFC provided a single-window interface to help investors navigate regulatory processes and coordinate with relevant ministries and provincial governments, but clarified that the council did not bypass constitutional or legal procedures.
He explained that while the SIFC had its own apex committee comprising the prime minister, chief ministers and other senior stakeholders, all major government decisions followed the prescribed institutional mechanism.
“Any significant economic decision is processed through the relevant ministry, placed before the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) where required, and finally approved and ratified by the federal cabinet,” he said.
Kayani said the SIFC had organised itself on a sector-wise basis to improve efficiency, including a dedicated component for agriculture, which worked closely with the Ministry of National Food Security and provincial governments, as agriculture was a devolved subject.
Responding to a supplementary question on Reko Diq, he said the SIFC was playing a facilitation role in the project, while the Ministry of Petroleum was the lead agency.
He added that the Ministry of Railways was also involved, particularly in matters related to ML-I and ML-III connectivity.
Both ministers maintained that the SIFC was working in a coordinated and facilitative manner to remove bottlenecks, ensure transparency and support economic growth, while fully adhering to constitutional requirements and established rules of business.