Punjab Sahulat Bazaars Authority: Pakistan’s Only Statutory Body Transitioned from Company to Authority, with Naveed Rafaqat as the Force Behind this Distinguished Milestone

This paper discusses institutional change at the Punjab Sahulat Bazaars Authority (PSBA) that was a Section 42 company that changed into the only statutory agency that supplied subsidized basic commodities in Pakistan. The study is based on the official records, third-party evaluations, and government publications as the research is conducted with the help of a document-based qualitative methodology with an embedded quantitative analysis to evaluate PSBA in terms of its legal, financial, and operational framework. Results indicate that during the tenure of Naveed Rafaqat Ahmad, PSBA has been doing better than peer institutions in the price control, digital innovation, governance, and service delivery. The major projects are the price relief of up to 35 percent, the system of free home delivery all over the province, solarized bazaars, and the assistance of female traders. Benchmarking information proves the fact that PSBA is at the high level of performance and fiscal efficacy. The paper finds that PSBA transformation is a replicable study on the citizen-led reform within the Pakistani government and how a transformational leadership and legal empowerment strategy can be used to underpin institutional excellence in less-developed economies.