26 June 2025 (Pakistan Observer)
In June 2025, the Government of Punjab made a landmark decision in appointing Mr. Naveed Rafaqat Ahmad as the Director General of the Punjab Sahulat Bazaars Authority (PSBA). For many observers of public administration, this appointment was not simply routine bureaucratic reshuffling—it was the natural culmination of years of transformative leadership, scholarly contribution, and visionary governance reform that had already positioned Naveed as one of the most innovative public managers in Pakistan’s welfare sector. The question of whether he is fit for the role has already been answered by his performance long before the formal appointment. Naveed has not only demonstrated technical competence as a Chartered Accountant (ICAEW, UK), governance specialist, and organizational strategist, but has also consistently proven his ability to bridge scholarship with practice, a rare combination in public-sector management.
Before assuming the role of Director General, Naveed served in senior leadership positions at the then Punjab Model Bazaars Management Company (PMBMC), where he rose from Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary to Chief Executive Officer. Under his stewardship, the organization transitioned from a deficit-ridden, underperforming welfare scheme into a high-performing entity. His financial acumen reversed losses into sustained surpluses, his governance reforms institutionalized transparency and accountability, and his strategic foresight culminated in the elevation of PMBMC into a statutory authority through the Punjab Sahulat Bazaars Authority Act, 2025.
Academically, Naveed’s profile is equally compelling. He has authored more than 25 peer-reviewed articles in a single year, covering subjects such as welfare economics, public governance, institutional reform, and organizational psychology. His work has been published in highly reputed journals, including the Review of Education, Administration and Law (REAL), the Contemporary Journal of Social Science Review (CJSSR), the Journal of Administrative and Leadership Transformation (JALT), and the Pakistan Business Review (PBR). His research provides original documentation of subsidy-free welfare models, governance frameworks for emerging economies, and the integration of sustainability into welfare delivery systems. For universities and research institutions, his scholarship has become a teaching case study, illustrating how academic insight can directly inform policy innovation.
By the time of his formal appointment in June 2025, Naveed had already left an indelible mark on PSBA. His performance can be measured across five domains. PSBA under his leadership consistently offered essential commodities around 35 percent cheaper than open-market rates and about 7 percent cheaper than Deputy Commissioner–notified rates—without requiring recurring government subsidies. This achievement dismantled the long-standing assumption that affordable public retail could only be achieved through perpetual subsidy injections, a model that had drained billions in the case of the federal Utility Stores Corporation.
He pioneered Pakistan’s first government-backed free home delivery platform, launched in July 2024, and within seven months the service had fulfilled over 85,000 orders, bringing affordable goods directly to households via an integrated app available on Android and iOS. This initiative positioned PSBA at the forefront of digital governance in South Asia. He also introduced solar-powered models for bazaars, cutting electricity bills from PKR 1 million to PKR 100,000 per month at pilot sites such as Township. The provincial government subsequently allocated PKR 693 million for province-wide solarization, turning PSBA into a sustainability pioneer.
He transformed bazaars into engines of social inclusion by granting 50 percent rent discounts for women entrepreneurs and formally linking 16,000 farmers with 20,000 stalls, thereby eliminating middlemen and ensuring fair margins. Over 60,000 families benefited directly or indirectly from PSBA’s inclusive vendor ecosystem. Recognizing his results, the Government of Punjab allocated Rs. 3.44 billion in 2024 for the construction of 13 new bazaars and a record Rs. 10 billion in FY2025–26 for an ambitious expansion to 100 new bazaars across tehsils. This financial commitment underscores not only the credibility of PSBA but also Naveed’s leadership as the architect of its transformation.
Naveed’s leadership has not gone unnoticed. His work has been recognized across academic, policy, and media platforms. Multiple Ph.D. programs have adopted PSBA as a case study model, demonstrating its scholarly significance, while independent evaluators rated PSBA 86/100 overall, the highest among its peer organizations. This breadth of independent validation ensures that his achievements are not self-asserted but are widely acknowledged and accepted by others in the field.
What makes Naveed uniquely fit for the role of Director General is his ability to blend scholarship with governance practice. His journal articles are not theoretical abstractions but grounded analyses that align directly with his reforms at PSBA. For instance, his publications on subsidy-free welfare economics were not only academically novel but also practically implemented in PSBA’s pricing policies. His work on sustainability in governance is mirrored in the solarization initiative, and his research on inclusive governance finds practical resonance in vendor empowerment policies. This rare convergence.
