PAKISTAN Business Forum (PBF) on Monday sought Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s urgent intervention for revival of business confidence and Pakistan’s economic competitiveness. In a letter to the PM, one of the national representative bodies of trade and industry said the year 2025 once again proved to be an extremely challenging year for business and industry. PBF President Khawaja Mehboob-ur-Rehman said despite repeated commitments by successive governments, the fundamental demand of the business community for ease of doing business and a reduction in the cost of operations had not been addressed in a meaningful or sustainable manner.
Claims by successive governments notwithstanding, the letter summarizes the ground situation and should serve as an eye opener for the government of a party that has traditionally been seen as business friendly. We have consistently been emphasizing in these columns that there is a visible clash in the policies of the government, which impedes realization of the cherished objective of reducing the cost of doing business. This has been explained by the letter as well, which says persistently high input costs, soaring energy tariffs and an increasingly uncompetitive tax regime continued to erode industrial productivity, weaken exports and discourage both local and foreign investment, adding these pressures have significantly reduced Pakistan’s ability to compete with regional economies that actively support their industries through competitive pricing and pro-growth fiscal policies. It is shocking that the government has not been able to address even basic concerns of the business community despite formation of a number of commissions, committees and task forces and their recommendations. The high ups frequently talk about pro-growth and pro-export strategies but practically the goal of industrialization remains a distant dream and in the absence of excess production there are scant opportunities to increase our exports meaningfully. The situation is unlikely to change until and unless we get rid of the IMF programme that has become one of the major hurdles in the way of implementing policies aimed at bringing down the cost of doing business including energy tariff and taxes. The phase-wise programme to reduce import duties at the instance of the IMF will, most likely, turn Pakistan into a dumping ground of foreign goods at the cost of local industry. The points raised by the PBF are legitimate and its point of view is confirmed by the sorrowful decrease in exports over the years including those of the textile. The business community is ready to play its role provided it was equipped with the necessary competitive tools to operate in regional and global markets. The forum has identified two reforms as absolutely critical — regionally competitive electricity tariffs and regionally competitive corporate tax rates, warning without alignment on these fronts, Pakistani businesses will remain at a structural disadvantage compared to their counterparts in neighboring countries. As highlighted by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb recently, Pakistan wants trade and not aid but there is a need to take tangible steps towards this policy change. Our trading partners are willing to buy more from Pakistan but first we should have reasonable surplus and at the same time value addition and quality should be ensured through modernization and research & development. It is the responsibility of the government to create an enabling environment and it is for the industrialists to go for innovation and aggressive marketing strategies to secure a credible and respectable place for ‘Made in Pakistan’ in the global markets. The PBF has rightly pointed out that the current policy making remained largely confined to compliance with the IMF programme conditions, with insufficient focus on innovative, growth-oriented and business-friendly solutions. It is time genuine efforts are made to evaluate concerns of the business community in a dispassionate manner in close cooperation with its elected leadership and pursue a consensus approach to make a mark in the economy.
