A prominent business leader on Friday called for immediate structural reforms to support the nation”s industrial sector, warning that record-breaking financial market performance is masking significant challenges in the real economy, including a widening current account deficit and declining exports.
Mian Zahid Hussain, President of the Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, expressed cautious optimism on Friday regarding recent macroeconomic developments but stressed the urgent need for the government to translate high-level gains into tangible relief for industries and citizens.
‘The current economic landscape presents a dichotomy of historic market highs and deep-rooted industrial pain,’ stated Hussain. He pointed to the Pakistan Stock Exchange”s KSE-100 Index reaching a historic peak of 188,621 points as a sign of strong investor confidence, fuelled by the government”s reform agenda and anticipation of a further 1% policy rate cut.
However, he contrasted this with a current account deficit of $1.174 billion for the first half of fiscal year 2026, a stark reversal from the $957 million surplus recorded in the corresponding period last year.
Hussain welcomed the signing of three major financing deals with the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) worth a combined $603 million. He described the $475 million allocation for the 306-kilometre Sukkur-Hyderabad Motorway (M-6) as a ‘landmark development’ for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which will complete the North-South corridor and significantly reduce logistics costs.
The business leader also highlighted the potential of $4.5 billion in agricultural investment memorandums of understanding recently signed with China. These 79 agreements are anticipated to help Pakistan double its agricultural exports from the current $8 billion target within three years.
Despite these positive developments, Hussain warned that industrial competitiveness is being “strangled by high energy tariffs,” even as inflation has sharply decelerated to 5.6% from a high of 37% in May 2023. He noted that while foreign assistance increased by 20% to $4.51 billion in the first half of the fiscal year, the country”s goods exports fell by 7.78% to Rs 4.27 trillion during the same period.
He called on the State Bank of Pakistan to implement an aggressive reduction of the policy rate from its current 10.5% to a single-digit figure between 7% and 9% to stimulate private sector credit.
Separately, Hussain expressed profound grief over the Gul Plaza fire tragedy, where the death toll has now reached 67. He demanded a high-level judicial inquiry into the incident and called for a mandatory safety audit of all commercial plazas in Karachi.
Concluding his statement, he urged the government to maintain momentum on its privatisation agenda, following the recent move on PIA, and to prioritise the digitisation of the tax system to raise the nation”s tax-to-GDP ratio above the current 10.5%.