ISLAMABAD: Atif Bokhari resigned as chairman of the Board of Investment on Saturday, becoming the third head of the department who has prematurely left office during the tenure of this government.
PM Imran Khan had appointed Bokhari as the BOI chairman in March last year and he joined the office in April. Bokhari had replaced Zubair Gilani.
Officials said that Atif Bokhari’s resignation cited personal reasons as the cause of his resignation.
Bokhari remained the chairman of the BOI for about 14 months. Bokhari enjoyed good repute among his colleagues in the government circles. The only complaint against him was that he was not actively projecting the government’s performance in the media.
Earlier, the prime minister had appointed Haroon Sharif as the BOI chairman in September 2018 who was replaced by Zubair Gilani in June 2019.
BOI was currently coordinating with the foreign office to find avenues for bringing investment from the United States to Pakistan, sources said. The resignation has once again put a question mark over the government’s priorities.
BOI is responsible for the promotion of investment opportunities and has a key role in ensuring ease of doing business and setting up of prioritized Special Economic Zones (SEZs) under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). It is also mandated to diversify the investor base by focusing on information technology, food processing, value-added textile, hospitality and tourism sectors.
