Pakistan shuts down Utility Stores across the country

The Pakistan government has officially shut down all Utility Stores Corporation (USC) outlets across the country, following final approval from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Industries and Production, all sales and purchases at utility stores ceased as of Thursday. The government had previously set July 31 as the official deadline for the closure, a decision finalized during a high-level meeting held on June 28 under the prime minister’s directive.

As part of the transition plan, all USC employees will be offered a Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) to facilitate the shutdown.

The move comes in line with the government’s fiscal consolidation efforts and follows conditions laid out by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In May, the IMF recommended the termination of additional USC employees by June 30 as part of a broader “right-sizing” policy.

Sources familiar with the matter said that 2,237 daily-wage workers were terminated in the first phase of the closure. Employees in Grade 14 and above are expected to be transferred to the government’s surplus pool by the same deadline.

In the last fiscal year, the USC received a PKR 38 billion subsidy. However, officials confirmed that the PKR 60 billion subsidy allocated for the current fiscal year had not yet been disbursed, further complicating the organization’s ability to remain operational.

Earlier, lawmakers expressed outrage during a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Industries, chaired by Syed Hafeezuddin, over the government’s alleged misinformation and unilateral decision to shut down Utility Stores Corporation (USC) branches without parliamentary approval.

Committee members criticized the government’s handling of the matter, calling it deceptive and unconstitutional. “The government lied about the closure of Utility Stores,” said PPP lawmaker Aijaz Jakhrani. “Then-minister for industries Rana Tanveer misled the House when he said on the floor that the stores would not be shut down.”

MNA Mehreen Razzaq Bhutto echoed the sentiment, questioning the legality of the closure without legislative consent. “How can the government shut down Utility Stores without Parliament’s approval? Both the National Assembly and this committee were kept in the dark,” she said. “This is not rightsizing, this is wrong-sizing.”

Chairman Syed Hafeezuddin warned that the government was disregarding the authority of the standing committee.

“Parliamentary committees are not to be taken lightly,” he said, citing Article 66 of the Constitution, which outlines parliamentary privileges.