PM Shehbaz’s new Trade Dispute Resolution Commission to cost taxpayers Rs. 6 crore annually

Despite repeated pledges to curb public spending, the federal government has approved a five-member Trade Dispute Resolution Commission (TDRC) that will cost taxpayers over Rs. 6 crore annually in salaries alone.

According to official notifications, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved the appointments on August 22, 2025, under the Trade Dispute Resolution Organization (TDRO), which operates under the Ministry of Commerce. Each commission member will draw a monthly salary of Rs. 10 lakh under the MP-I scale, along with additional perks and benefits.

The TDRC’s mandate is to resolve long-standing trade disputes, but critics argue that the task could have been managed by existing commerce officers, avoiding the need for yet another high-cost bureaucratic body.

The appointees include three public-sector officials — Umer Dad Afridi, Javed Iqbal Khan, and Muhammad Hamoodur Rauf — and two private-sector representatives — Mohammad Rauf Khan and Riffat Inam Butt. Their tenure has been set at three years.

The creation of the commission adds to Pakistan’s growing list of commissions and authorities with overlapping mandates, raising questions about performance accountability. Detractors say such posts often serve as political rewards rather than genuine governance reforms.

One senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity, criticized the decision:

“The government talks about austerity and downsizing, yet keeps expanding the bureaucracy. This is not reform — it’s window dressing at the taxpayer’s expense.”

Observers also point out that in today’s digital environment, a single qualified officer from the Ministry of Commerce could have managed trade disputes efficiently without the administrative overhead of a five-member, MP-I level body.