The government has notified new rules for how public money is spent on goods, works and services, replacing a framework that had been in place for more than two decades, as an International Monetary Fund mission continues talks in Islamabad on the country’s loan programme.
The Public Procurement Rules 2026 took immediate effect and replace the Public Procurement Rules 2004, Dawn reported. They were issued under Section 26 of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) Ordinance 2002.
What the new rules change
The rules make several changes to the way federal departments buy goods and hire contractors:
- Online procurement is now compulsory. Federal procuring agencies must use the E-Pak Acquisition and Disposal System (e-PADS), the government’s electronic procurement platform.
- Dedicated procurement cells are to be set up in departments.
- Checks on large purchases, including third-party validation, evaluation and inspection of goods before they are shipped.
- Blacklisting and cross-debarment, so that a firm barred by one agency can be kept out of contracts with others.
- A new complaints system, with independent grievance redressal and an appeal mechanism at the PPRA.
- Faster timelines, with shorter response times and standstill periods, the pause between announcing the winning bid and signing the contract.
Room for state firms and local bidders
The rules also contain provisions that give the government more flexibility. Rule 32 allows departments to award contracts directly to state-owned entities for work that is time-sensitive, scattered or in remote locations, in the public interest or in urgent cases, as long as the work is not sub-let to others.
The new framework also allows bidding to be limited to national bidders in specific cases, and creates preference mechanisms for domestic bidders and locally produced goods.
The IMF in town
The rules were notified while an IMF staff mission led by Iva Petrova is in Pakistan. The mission, which arrived on 23 September, is holding talks that could unlock about $1.2 billion under the country’s Extended Fund Facility and Resilience and Sustainability Facility.
The team has met officials from the finance ministry, the Federal Board of Revenue and the Establishment Division, as well as the finance secretaries of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, according to Dawn.
Dawn noted the timing, reporting the new rules alongside the IMF team’s meetings. The PPRA, the regulator responsible for the rules, is headed by Managing Director Hasnat Ahmed Qureshi.
A missed deadline on the wealth fund
Not every reform is on track. Pakistan has missed an end-March 2026 structural benchmark to amend the law governing its Sovereign Wealth Fund. The amendments still need approval from parliament.
The fund’s portfolio covers seven state-owned enterprises with assets of about $8 billion:
| State-owned enterprises in the Sovereign Wealth Fund |
|---|
| Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) |
| Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) |
| Mari Petroleum |
| National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) |
| Government Holdings |
| Pakistan Development Fund |
| Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Company |
Why it matters
The rules decide how federal departments spend public money on everything from supplies to construction. Moving all federal purchases online, adding blacklisting and giving bidders a proper route to appeal are designed to make the process more open. At the same time, the new powers to award contracts directly to state firms and to favour local bidders will be watched closely, since how widely they are used will decide whether the rules deliver the transparency they promise.
This article draws on reporting by Dawn and earlier coverage by The Indus Compass.
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