Islamabad: In a significant overhaul of public works and development oversight, the Federal Cabinet has approved the dissolution of the Pakistan Public Works Department (PWD), replacing it with new entities aimed at enhancing efficiency and accountability in federal development projects.

According to Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the decision was made during a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The meeting outlined the establishment of the Asset and Facility Management Company to take over maintenance and repair functions previously managed by Pak PWD. This transition includes a reassignment of PWD staff to various ministries and the implementation of a Golden Handshake Scheme. Additionally, all property records of Pak-PWD will be digitized.

The newly proposed Pakistan Infrastructure Development Company will oversee federal development projects, and provincial projects currently under federal supervision will be transferred to respective provincial institutions. The Cabinet has mandated that this transition be completed within two weeks.

Further discussions in the cabinet centered on government right-sizing, with ongoing evaluations of essential and subsidiary institutions across various ministries aimed at reducing governmental bloat and improving service delivery. The cabinet also extended the Proof Of Registration (POR) cards for 1.45 million Afghan refugees for another year and approved several other administrative and regulatory measures.