Lahore: Federal Minister of Communications Murad Saeed, while addressing the National Assembly (NA), claimed that the Pakistan Post ‘is on its way to become the country’s largest banking channel by the end of 2020’, according to a news report.
He revealed that the postal operator is linked to 15,000
kiosks of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) for
biometric verification which would help in the distribution of remittances, making
the payments of Ehsaas Programme among other similar initiatives. The Pakistan
Post would also launch its home delivery service by the end of February, he
added.
To this effect, Saeed also revealed that his ministry would
also set up 125,000 franchises within the next two years for creating
employment opportunities in the country. He lauded the incumbent government’s lower
house for taking various initiatives to uplift the Pakistan Post as these
reforms had helped in significantly reducing the losses incurred by the postal service.
He informed the session that these reforms included same-day delivery services across the country, disbursement of remittances without charges and entering the e-commerce sector and the fintech market.
On a separate note, the minister underlined that, currently,
local private courier companies did not fall under any regulatory authority
oversight — for which the Ministry of Communications would soon table a bill.
He added that the senate had already given its nod to the formation of a
regulatory body.
