Shooting the messenger

Aggregate losses have declined consecutively, from Rs905 billion in 2023 to Rs832 billion in 2025

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has accused the media of "selective reading and reporting" of the latest annual aggregate report on SOEs. Yet, the facts cited in news reports are drawn directly from the government's own document.

Yes, the minister is correct in pointing out that aggregate losses have declined over three consecutive years, from Rs905 billion in 2023 to Rs832 billion last year — a reduction of Rs74 billion. But this narrow framing ignores the broader deterioration within the same report. According to the finance ministry's own data, net cash returns by SOEs to the government plunged by 91% to Rs40.7 billion.

Leading the pack is the National Highway Authority, which carries outstanding loans of approximately Rs3.1 trillion, with annual debt accretion of Rs300 billion. The NHA is not a marginal entity. It is Pakistan's logistics backbone, entrusted with the country's national highways and motorways. Yet it has emerged as the single largest loss-maker among SOEs, operating under what the government's own Central Monitoring Unit describes as a "structural deficit model".

The minister has spoken of reforms, rightsizing and privatisation. Such commitments are welcome. But reform must begin with candour. Without a serious restructuring of its financial model - including diversified funding, renegotiated loan terms and genuine efficiency reforms - the authority will continue to bleed the public purse.

The combined burden placed on the exchequer by these bleeding entities reached Rs2.1 trillion in the last fiscal year. Even if inflows marginally exceeded outflows by Rs40 billion, the broader picture reflects severe systemic fragility. In times of fiscal strain, transparency is not the enemy. It is the first step toward correction. The issue is not how the report was read. It is what the report reveals, and whether the government is prepared to confront it head-on.