Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has appointed retired Lieutenant General Muhammad Zafar Iqbal as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Energy, giving him the status of a minister of state. The appointment took effect immediately, according to an official notification issued on October 14, 2026.
qbal will oversee matters related to the Power and Petroleum divisions under the Ministry of Energy. He was already supervising these areas as head of the National Coordination and Management Council (NCMC), which coordinates important energy and fuel-related decisions.
The council handles matters involving crude oil, petroleum products, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). It also monitors petroleum product exports and helps set priorities for electricity generation.
Iqbal previously led negotiations with independent power producers (IPPs) and government-owned power plants to reduce costs in the power sector. He also helped arrange Rs1.225 trillion in bank financing to settle payments owed to power producers.
The government expects energy sector reforms to reduce financial pressure on the power system. However, electricity consumers will continue to face a debt-servicing charge linked to the financing arrangement.
