The Regulator Solution: Sohail Wajahat’s Broken System Fix

Every so often, you speak with someone whose experience is so vast and varied that their perspective cuts through the noise like a surgeon’s scalpel. My conversation with Sohail Wajahat,a former CEO of Siemens Pakistan, a chairman of PSO, and a federal minister,was exactly that. He has seen Pakistan from the inside of a German multinational, a state-owned behemoth, and the highest corridors of power.

The Pakistan Factor

His diagnosis of our national malaise is as blunt as it is deep: our problem isn’t a lack of resources, but a deep-seated moral corruption, and the solution is simpler and more targeted than we think.Throughout our discussion, Sohail kept returning to three core principles that have guided his life: meritocracy, a rejection of hypocrisy, and an intolerance for corruption. It was his time at Siemens, a purely merit-driven environment where he became the first non-German to rise to such a senior global role, that shaped his worldview. When he transitioned into Pakistan’s public sector, he was confronted with a system that was the polar opposite.

The Strategic Pivot

He shared a powerful story about being appointed chairman of PSO, only to find that every decision, from procurement to logistics, was a battle against entrenched, corrupt interests.But this isn’t just another tale of despair. Sohail offered a clear, actionable, and audacious solution. He argues that trying to fix corruption from the top down or the bottom up is a fool’s errand.

The People Question

Instead, he believes the key lies with just 72 people: the heads of Pakistan’s regulatory bodies. His “Regulator Solution” is simple: enable these individuals, pay them market-leading salaries (he suggested his own multimillion-rupee salary at Siemens as a benchmark), and give them the authority to enforce the law without fear or favor. His logic is that a well-paid, enabled regulator has no incentive to be corrupt and every incentive to protect their position by doing their job.

Why This Matters

He believes this single move could eliminate 80% of corruption, from fake medicines to adulterated food, almost overnight.He also challenged us to confront our own hypocrisy. We publicly condemn corrupt politicians, yet privately we are “dying to go to their dinners and take pictures with them.” He called for a social boycott, arguing that if we truly find someone’s character objectionable, we should refuse to give them our time or attention.

It’s a powerful call for personal accountability in a society that loves to blame everyone but itself.This conversation was a dose of hard reality, delivered by a man who has earned the right to say it. It’s a blueprint for change that is less about grand, sweeping reforms and more about a few, courageous, and highly targeted decisions. To hear the full, unfiltered truth from a man who has seen it all, you have to listen to the episode.