Meeting with business leaders: PM directs immediate steps for solving problems

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday directed the authorities to take immediate steps to resolve problems confronting the business community and ensure that their grievances receive prompt and lasting solutions.

He also directed the tax authorities to review the proposal to allow the super tax exemption for exporters having less than 80 percent of export proceeds.

The directives came during a meeting with a delegation of the country’s prominent industrialists and business leaders, who presented proposals relating to taxation, energy costs, regulation, trade and industrial activity.

Welcoming the proposals, the prime minister said the government wanted to work with the business community to promote exports and strengthen economic activity.

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He noted that several recommendations submitted by the private sector during the budget-making process had been incorporated into the budget.

Reducing energy costs remained a key government priority, Sharif said, while efforts were also being made to improve the ease of doing business.

He said the recently established Trade Facilitation Board (TFB) would be strengthened into an effective institution for promoting trade and invited the business community to suggest measures for improving its performance and expanding its role.

Sharif also pointed to the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), saying it had provided investors and businesses with a one-window platform aimed at facilitating investment and resolving administrative issues.

Work was also under way on a regulatory “guillotine” to eliminate unnecessary regulations, simplify procedures and reduce compliance costs for businesses, he said.

The prime minister cited progress in the digitisation of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), saying the tax authority had collected Rs800 billion through enforcement during the last fiscal year.

He said the country’s macroeconomic conditions had improved considerably following measures taken by the government’s economic team.

However, he cautioned that more work was needed at the microeconomic level to ensure the benefits of economic stabilisation reached the wider population.

Sharif also stressed the need to align workforce training with industry requirements, saying young people needed skills that matched changing market demand.

The business delegation was briefed on measures aimed at improving trade infrastructure and reducing transportation bottlenecks.

Port charges had been reduced and operational capacity at the country’s ports improved, officials said.

Work is under way on the upgradation of Motorway M-10 and the Pipri Freight Corridor to improve inland connectivity from Karachi’s ports.

The construction of Motorway M-13 between Kharian and Rawalpindi is expected to improve connectivity between Lahore and Islamabad.

The government is also upgrading Pakistan Railways to strengthen freight infrastructure and facilitate faster movement of commercial goods.

Officials told the delegation that government measures had contributed to a record increase in IT exports.

They said one million people were being trained in information technology and artificial intelligence as part of efforts to expand the country’s digital workforce.

The government was also taking steps to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly by facilitating their entry into the export sector and improving access to financing.

Business leaders welcomed what they described as improved macroeconomic stability and expressed confidence in the government’s economic reforms.

They particularly appreciated the Export Development Fund, timely payment of tax refunds and FBR digitisation.

They also welcomed Pakistan’s successful issuance of a USD 3 billion bond, saying it reflected improved macroeconomic stability and growing business confidence.

The participants expressed their willingness to continue cooperating with the government to promote export-led growth and welcomed its privatisation and deregulation policies.

The business leaders also raised sector-specific concerns and put forward proposals for addressing issues affecting their respective industries.

The delegation included Mian Muhammad Mansha, Arif Habib, Saqib Shirazi, Atif Bajwa, Muhammad Ali Tabba, Musaddiq Zulqarnain, Umar Saeed, Samad Dawood, Ashraf Mokaty, Shahid Soorti, Shehzad Asghar, Ziad Bashir, Shehzad Saleem, Asif Peer, Aamir Ibrahim, Javed Bilwani, Siddiq Bhatti, Fawad Anwar, Khurram Mukhtar and Yousaf Hussain.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026