On the instructions of the federal government, the process of buying and selling goods at utility stores across the country has been completely stopped from today, and food items and other goods from all the company s stores have been transferred to warehouses.

The ERP system of Utility Stores Corporation has also been completely shut down from today. As per the orders issued by the Utility Stores Corporation, the ERP system has been shut down and strict action will be taken against any purchase or sale made through this system after July 31.

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Last week, utility store employees protested against the government s decision in Islamabad. The protesters raised anti-government slogans and announced that they would continue the sit-in until their demands were met. The protesters said that the closure of utility stores would increase inflation and make thousands of employees unemployed. A protester said that closing the stores would be tantamount to leaving 260 million people at the mercy of the inflation mafia.

Reports of the possible closure of utility stores first emerged in August 2024, when then-Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Industries and Production, Senator Aun Abbas, revealed that the government was considering closing all utility stores. He expressed concern that about 7,000 employees could become unemployed.

Later, in September 2024, Federal Minister for Industries and Production Rana Tanveer Hussain told Parliament that the government had no intention of closing utility stores, but was considering various options to restructure the corporation and promote transparency.