PRIME INSTITUTE

PRIME INSTITUTE PRIME is an Islamabad based economic think tank which promotes private enterprise for public good. Do such policies expand or inhibit liberty?

Vision: Open, Free and Prosperous Pakistan

PRIME Institute is a public policy research organization, a think tank, dedicated to the ideals of liberty, and limited government, free markets and development. Our Mission is to increase understanding of public policy based on these principles. We are fiercely independent, and non-partisan, with distinguished scholars from across Pakistan. Our primary focus is to analyze the domestic and international policies of the Federal Government. If policies restrict freedom, we work to correct that. For example, why is Pakistan ranked 126th in Economic Freedom? Should the government be involved in the industry? What policies should be adopted to protect Pakistani citizens? And many such questions. Our philosophy can be described as Libertarian, which is generally interpreted to mean fiscally conservative and socially liberal. 2014-2-6 monogram prime

We organize summits, dialogues, and lectures which are open to the public. We have published monographs, periodical reports, and books. Our events and publications have evolved around a wide range of economic issues such as free trade, informal economy, housing policy, social protection, export development, national debt and power sector. Our experts have provided expert opinions to Parliament. Our experts have been called upon to assist the Supreme Court. Hundreds of students apply every year to our comprehensive internship program. Every year, we hold the National Freedom Awards, where we acknowledge citizens who have played a role in bringing liberty and prosperity into our lives. Our overriding concern is not with politicians, but with opinion leaders and the Pakistani public, who we reach through Op-eds, media interviews, podcasts, audiobooks, and our websites. Freedom needs a voice in Islamabad and the national media. If that is a value you share, support us, donate, or sponsor. You can follow us on Facebook, and twitter, subscribe to us on YouTube.

26/09/2026

๐—™๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—บ ๐—™๐—ถ๐˜…๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐˜† ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—™๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ถ๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—™๐˜‚๐—ฒ๐—น ๐—ง๐—ฎ๐˜…๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป - ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐—–๐—ผ๐—บ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ # ๐Ÿฑ๐Ÿฌ

Within the fuel pricing mechanism, the Petroleum Development Levy (PDL) remains the component that needs reform. Maryam Ayub, Research Economist at Prime Institute, explains that an ad valorem levy will change with the underlying fuel price. When international prices decline, the absolute amount of levy would also fall, allowing consumers to benefit more fully from lower prices while preserving an important source of government revenue.

Read the full comment: https://primethinktank.substack.com/p/from-fixed-levy-to-flexible-fuel

๐—˜๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ก๐—ฒ๐˜…๐˜ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ฃ๐—ผ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐˜† ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€N-Gen Fellows Presented Their Policy Briefs on Completion of Their F...
25/09/2026

๐—˜๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ก๐—ฒ๐˜…๐˜ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ฃ๐—ผ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐˜† ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€

N-Gen Fellows Presented Their Policy Briefs on Completion of Their Fellowship at Prime Institute

Mehwish Imran presented: 'Turning Subsidy into Sunlight: Rethinking Electricity Support for Pakistan's Vulnerable Households'
Electricity subsidies offer short-term relief to consumers, but at a growing cost to public finances. Mehwish's brief examines how Pakistan can redesign its subsidy model to protect vulnerable households without placing an unsustainable burden on the state.

Ahmad Iftikhar presented: 'From Listing to Growth: Reforming Equity Financing for Pakistani Firms'
Pakistan's stock market offers firms a route to long-term capital that does not depend entirely on bank lending. Yet most businesses are not using it. Ahmad's brief investigates why this opportunity exists and what reforms could unlock it.

๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐—œ๐—ป๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐˜๐˜‚๐˜๐—ฒ ๐—ฆ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ป๐˜€ ๐— ๐—ผ๐—จ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—™๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฎ ๐—๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ต ๐—ช๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—จ๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜๐˜†On 22nd September 2026, Professor Dr. Bushra Mirza, Vice-Ch...
23/09/2026

๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐—œ๐—ป๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐˜๐˜‚๐˜๐—ฒ ๐—ฆ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ป๐˜€ ๐— ๐—ผ๐—จ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—™๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฎ ๐—๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ต ๐—ช๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—จ๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜๐˜†

On 22nd September 2026, Professor Dr. Bushra Mirza, Vice-Chancellor of Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi (Official), and Dr. Ali Salman, CEO of Prime Institute, formalised a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen the link between academia and policy research.

The MoU commits both institutions to a partnership focused on the intellectual and professional development of students in public policy and economic policy.

We look forward to a partnership that equips the next generation of Pakistan's policy researchers.

๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ฎ $๐Ÿฒ ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—น๐—น๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต๐—ฏ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ฑ ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ด๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐Ÿฑ% - Dr. Ali Salman Dr. Ali Salman...
22/09/2026

๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ฎ $๐Ÿฒ ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—น๐—น๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต๐—ฏ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ฑ ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ด๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐Ÿฑ% - Dr. Ali Salman

Dr. Ali Salman, in a webinar organized by the Research and Debate Society, explored Pakistanโ€™s economic potential across Iran, Central Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East. The discussion focused on trade, investment, connectivity, and energy, and analyzed the domestic policy reforms needed to turn Pakistan's strategic geopolitical position into lasting economic opportunities.

18/09/2026

๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐—™๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป: ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ก๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐˜€ ๐—œ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป, ๐—ก๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—”๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—œ๐—ป๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐˜๐˜‚๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป

In the recent PRIME Comment, we examine the Prime Minister's approval of the establishment of a Trade Facilitation Board (TFB) under his chairmanship. The board's stated objectives are to address all non-tariff issues affecting cross-border trade, develop a trade promotion framework, and establish a trade facilitation index. The rationale behind this is not entirely misplaced; Pakistan's trade performance has deteriorated in recent years. However, the question is whether another board is the right remedy. Pakistan already has a National Trade and Transportation Facilitation Committee (NTTFC), established in 2001, whose mandate closely mirrors that of the TFB.

Full Prime Comment: https://primethinktank.substack.com/p/trade-facilitation-pakistan-needs?r=2v9c5&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=post%20viewer

17/09/2026

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—บ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ก๐—ฒ๐˜„ ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป - ๐—ณ๐˜. ๐——๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜†๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—”๐˜‡๐—ถ๐˜‡

In this episode of Liberty Chowk, Politician and Former Federal Minister Daniyal Aziz Choudhry dissects the new provinces debate and argues for empowered local governments instead. Pakistan has gone nearly eleven years without a local government election. Punjab alone, home to roughly 60% of the country's population, has had no elected local government for over a decade.

Watch the Full Podcast: https://youtu.be/hau5AZTSUtg

17/09/2026

How can Pakistan transition from a security-centric geopolitical strategy to a trade-driven economic powerhouse?

The Research and Debate Society invites you to an exclusive webinar featuring Dr. Ali Salman, CEO of the PRIME Institute. During this session, the structural changes needed to transform Pakistan's strategic position into sustainable economic opportunities will be examined, with a focus on:

Regional Trade & Connectivity: Iran, Central Asia, and the Middle East

Cross-Border Energy Pipelines & Investment Flows

Domestic Structural Reforms for Sustainable Growth

๐Ÿ—“ Date: Friday, September 18, 2026

โฐ Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (PKT)

๐Ÿ“ Platform: Google Meet

๐Ÿ”— Link: https://meet.google.com/gmn-yftu-ffb

10/09/2026

๐——๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ฉ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—น๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐˜๐˜€ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜

In 2021, the federal government inserted Clause 42(f) into the Public Procurement Rules 2004 through SRO 834(I)/2021, allowing government entities and State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to contract directly with each other without competitive bidding. This raised a fundamental question of competitive neutrality: should SOEs be granted preferential access to government contracts when competing with private-sector enterprises?

Read More: https://primeinstitute.org/prime-comment/g2g-contracting-and-the-cost-of-unequal-competition/

๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ด๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ ๐— ๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ด๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป - ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ฟadil1 and Ahmed Qadir presented their brief, Regulatory Refor...
04/09/2026

๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ด๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ ๐— ๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ด๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป - ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ฟ
adil1 and Ahmed Qadir presented their brief, Regulatory Reforms in Pakistan: A Comparative Review of Diagnostic Tools, analysing the World Bank's B-Ready Index, PIDE's Sludge Series, the Regulatory Guillotine approach, and the Standard Cost Model. The presenters explained how these methodologies complement each other in different stages of the reform cycle, from diagnosis to implementation and control, noting that none of the tools effectively captures discretionary enforcement issues. Participants discussed the challenges of Pakistan's complex regulatory environment. The discussion revealed that while 558 regulatory reforms have been endorsed by the Cabinet Committee on Regulatory Reforms, the implementation success rate is only 14-16%, highlighting bureaucratic resistance and a lack of institutional ownership. Participants emphasized the need for transparency, process traceability, and training civil servants in smart regulation tools like Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) to ensure sustainable reform implementation.

Read the full brief at: https://primeinstitute.org/publication/regulatory-reforms-in-pakistan-a-comparative-review-of-diagnostic-tools/

๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ด๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป: ๐—” ๐—–๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜„ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐——๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ ๐—ง๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—น๐˜€Prime Institute has released a policy brief, wri...
03/09/2026

๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ด๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป: ๐—” ๐—–๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜„ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐——๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ ๐—ง๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—น๐˜€

Prime Institute has released a policy brief, written by Tuaha Adil and Ahmed Qadir, that compares the methodologies available to reformers for diagnosing regulatory burden and designing reforms. It reviews four methodologies: the World Bank's Business Ready (B-Ready) Index, the PIDE Sludge Series, the Regulatory Guillotine, and the Standard Cost Model. The review indicates that each methodology answers a different question and suits a different stage of the reform cycle, but none captures discretionary enforcement on its own, and the tools are best used together, in sequence, rather than as competing choices.

Read the full brief at: https://primeinstitute.org/publication/regulatory-reforms-in-pakistan-a-comparative-review-of-diagnostic-tools/

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