PM Shehbaz Appoints Retired Lt Gen Zafar Iqbal as Special Assistant on Energy: Can He Fix Pakistan’s Power Crisis?

ISLAMABAD, 14 October 2026: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has appointed retired Lieutenant General Muhammad Zafar Iqbal as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Energy, with the status of Minister of State. The appointment was made under Rule 4(6) of the Rules of Business, 1973, and takes effect immediately, according to ProPakistani.

What the Role Covers

Iqbal will oversee the Power and Petroleum Divisions of the Ministry of Energy, as reported by Bloom Pakistan. Those divisions are headed by federal ministers Sardar Awais Khan Leghari (Power) and Ali Pervaiz Malik (Petroleum).

The appointment formalises a role he already largely held. He previously chaired the National Coordination and Management Council, which was set up in April to replace the National Price Coordination Committee, according to a Dawn-sourced report on UA.NEWS.

Background of Lt Gen (Retd) Zafar Iqbal

Iqbal retired from the Pakistan Army as a three-star general. According to his Wikipedia profile, he was commissioned in 1989 and later commanded the Army Air Defence Command.

His recent public profile comes from civilian energy assignments. On 7 September, the Establishment Division named him Director General of the National Explosives and Petroleum Safety Agency (NEPSA) on a three-year contract, as ProPakistani reported.

Track Record in the Energy Sector

His main achievements came on the government’s energy task force:

• He helped lead the renegotiation of contracts with private and state-owned power producers, according to UA.NEWS.
• The task force secured agreements with independent power producers (IPPs) to clear Rs348 billion in arrears. The producers also waived Rs387 billion in late-payment interest.
• A Rs1,275 billion loan from 18 commercial banks was arranged to cut circular debt from Rs2.381 trillion to about Rs561 billion, as Profit by Pakistan Today reported.
• Consumers repay the loan through a debt service surcharge of Rs3.23 per unit, already included in electricity bills.

The Economic Coordination Committee later approved a government guarantee of over Rs659 billion for the Rs1.225 trillion circular debt financing, according to Arab News.

Is He Qualified for the Role?

His strengths are in negotiation, coordination and execution, and the circular-debt settlement is a concrete result. However, no engineering or utility-management background has been publicly documented.

The structural problems also remain. The remaining Rs561 billion in circular debt is expected to be addressed through reforms and better efficiency in distribution companies. That means tackling power theft, line losses and poor recovery, and a negotiator alone cannot fix these.

Outlook: What to Expect

The appointment is likely to bring faster decisions and tighter coordination between the Power and Petroleum Divisions. Three risks stand out:

1. Overlapping authority: Two federal ministers already head these divisions.
2. Accountability: Combining several roles in one person makes oversight harder.
3. Consumer impact: Higher tariffs or surcharges could erode public support for the reforms.

If the government follows through on distribution-company reforms, the appointment could help stabilise the sector. If the focus stays on financial settlements alone, the debt will likely build up again. The next 6 to 12 months will show which way it goes.

Note: The outlook section is the author’s analysis, not an official statement.

References

1. ProPakistani: DG NEPSA Becomes Energy Advisor
2. Bloom Pakistan: PM Shehbaz Appoints Retired Lt Gen Zafar Iqbal as New SAPM on Energy
3. UA.NEWS (citing Dawn): Sharif appoints Iqbal as special assistant on energy
4. Profit by Pakistan Today: Govt to slash circular debt with Rs1,275 billion payment to IPPs
5. Arab News: Pakistan economic body approves $2.3 billion for circular debt financing
6. Wikipedia: Muhammad Zafar Iqbal (officer)

Keywords: Zafar Iqbal SAPM Energy, Lt Gen Zafar Iqbal, special assistant energy Pakistan, Pakistan circular debt, Power Division, Petroleum Division, Shehbaz Sharif appointment, NEPSA, IPPs, Pakistan energy crisis, Ministry of Energy, National Coordination and Management Council