Islamabad: The Senate Standing Committee on Communications has mandated a comprehensive digitization strategy for Pakistan Post, focusing on automation, financial restructuring, loss prevention, and asset commercialization. The directive was issued during a meeting chaired by Senator Pervaiz Rashid at the Parliament House, emphasizing the necessity of digital transformation to ensure the financial viability of the national postal service.
According to Senate of Pakistan, the meeting included an extensive review of Pakistan Post’s operations, with the Director General providing a detailed account of its current capabilities, which include 9,946 post offices, 21,213 employees, and a network of mail offices and international hubs. The committee compared these operations to private courier services, highlighting the need for Pakistan Post to enhance its delivery capabilities and public utility services, especially after the shift of military pension disbursements and savings bank operations to commercial banks affected its revenue stream.
The committee’s discussions centered on essential structural reforms, including the reactivation of the 2,761-post office automation project, with funding support from the EXIM Bank of Korea. Emphasis was placed on leveraging commercial postal properties, expanding e-commerce and logistics services, and integrating online networking solutions to restore the department’s financial health. Additionally, the committee scrutinized loss prevention measures, compliance with international postage standards, and incidents of theft and pilferage in the parcel network.
Recommendations included the release of the 1.36 billion rupees allocated for the automation project, the commercialization of postal real estate, and the development of new revenue generation plans. The committee also addressed concerns about employees working on deputation in the National Highways and Motorways Police, directing the DIG to take appropriate actions and the Additional Secretary of Communications to investigate further.
The committee meeting saw participation from several senators and was attended by key officials from the Ministry of Communications, Pakistan Post, and the National Highways and Motorways Police.