Govt has failed to provide relief to business community: FPCCI VP

KARACHI: Vice President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Amaan Paracha, has said that despite all promises, the government has failed to provide relief to the business community.

Due to flawed policies, the country’s economy is on the brink of destruction, exports are continuously declining, and there is an urgent need to announce effective measures in the upcoming Federal Budget 2026–27 to clearly improve policies in order to put the country on the right track.

He emphasized that before formulating policies in the budget, consultation with all stakeholders must be ensured so that there remains no room for any anomalies in policymaking.

The FPCCI Vice President said that government officials are not willing to accept the legitimate concerns of traders, due to which businesspeople are forced to approach the courts or the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO).

These processes consume considerable time and lead to growing frustration and disappointment within the business community.

Amaan Paracha further stated that the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Resident Representative, Maher Bibi, has pointed out that high inflation has severely affected the Pakistani population, especially low-income groups.

Therefore, the IMF has stressed the importance of a strict and credible monetary policy, the independence of the central bank, and controlling inflation expectations to ensure price stability.

He added that the federal government has recently imposed an additional burden on electricity consumers by increasing power tariffs for three months, while NEPRA has also approved an additional charge of 32 paisas per unit under quarterly adjustments.

This extra amount will be recovered from consumers for electricity units used in December, January, and February. On one hand, the government continues to claim a steady decline in inflation, and national and international rating agencies are also reporting economic improvement; however, ground realities are entirely different.

Amid this severe inflation, it has become extremely difficult for poor citizens to sustain their livelihoods, while the younger generation, frustrated by unemployment, is increasingly migrating abroad.

He concluded by saying that if all claims of declining inflation are truly based on facts, then why are their benefits not reaching the general public? Even the government’s own Bureau of Statistics appears to contradict these claims on a weekly basis, and now the IMF has also acknowledged that inflation has severely impacted low-income groups.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026