KARACHI: The Pakistan Business Forum (PBF) has emphasised that the country urgently requires business-friendly policies to revive economic momentum. While talking to delegation of Solevant Extractors Association on Wednesday, PBF President Khawaja Mehboob-ur-Rehman urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to implement significant reductions in tariffs and tax rates, noting that investment cannot take place under the prevailing 40 percent tax regime.
He added that if the government is unwilling to revise the tax structure, then there is little justification for maintaining the Board of Investment.
The Forum highlighted that despite repeated currency devaluations over the past five decades, neither export competitiveness nor sustainable economic growth has improved. Since 1975, Pakistan’s exchange rate has depreciated from Rs 9.99 per dollar to nearly Rs 284 per dollar by 2025. Even with such steep devaluation, economic fundamentals have not strengthened.
PBF also drew attention to the country’s rapidly growing population, currently estimated at 256 million and projected to rise to 266 million by 2027.
The investment-to-GDP ratio stands at 13.8 percent, while public investment—critical for stimulating private sector activity—remains restricted to just 2.9 percent of GDP. The Forum urged the government to examine these issues comprehensively.
It stressed that plugging systemic leakages must come before the formulation of future budgets, as meaningful fiscal planning is not possible without addressing structural inefficiencies.
“PBF suggested that these core economic challenges should be resolved through the proposed 28th Constitutional Amendment, with clear provisions for strengthening the national currency, rationalising tax rates, and establishing business-friendly policies”. Such reforms would provide clarity to the business community regarding the country’s economic direction.
The Forum further mentioned, unfortunately Pakistan has been experimenting with a new economic model every five years, and that stability, predictability, and coherent long-term planning are urgently needed.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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