Traders seek urgent consultation
The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has urged the government to ensure immediate consultations with the business community to address their concerns before the National Assembly finalises the federal budget for 2025-26.
LCCI President Mian Abuzar Shad, Senior Vice President Engineer Khalid Usman and Vice President Shahid Nazir Chaudhry in a statement called for urgent revisions.
They said that the government has projected GDP growth at 4.2%, up from the current 2.7%, adding that the budget overlooks systemic flaws. The growth estimates ignore ground realities, high cost of doing business, energy shortages and inconsistent policies which are affecting industrial output. "The government must revisit these projections to avoid fiscal shortfalls later."
The LCCI office-bearers said that debt servicing still consumes a significant portion of the budget and the IMF-mandated subsidy cuts will hurt low-income groups.
The imposition of 18% sales tax on imported solar panels has also drawn sharp criticism. They said that this move contradicts Pakistan's renewable energy goals. Instead of taxing solar imports, the government should incentivise local manufacturing and R&D activity to reduce dependence on foreign products.
Mian Abuzar Shad said that below-the-mark allocations would affect healthcare, education and infrastructure. Apart from that, slashing social sector funding for short-term fiscal adjustments will harm long-term growth. "The government must rebalance allocations to prioritise human development."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
3 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Trade deal with US
Listen to article Pakistan and the United States are in a first-of-its-kind trade deal that seems to be carved out on a profitable index for both the countries. Though no statistics are available officially as to what are the hallmarks of concessions and volume in terms of tariffs, the euphoria on both sides makes it a win-win proposition. The assured thing, however, is that the deal has been struck on lower tariffs for the developing country, and it is a positive development at a time when many of the states, including China, India and Canada, are struggling to come to terms with the Trump administration regarding reciprocal tariffs. The deal, apparently signed after hectic discussions that evolved political and strategic issues as well, will go on to bolster the confidence for the private sector too. It is widely hoped that it will pave the way for expanding market access, attracting investment and tapping sectors that were in oblivion to this day, such as oil, minerals and crypto-currency. Presently, the bilateral trade volume sits at $7.3 billion, and it is hoped that it should cross the benchmark of $10 billion with the new wrangling instantly. A surprising aspect of the deal is the mention of oil exploration as an avenue in bilateralism, and the fact that President Trump himself elicited interest in it is worth the salt, and so is the case with the minerals gold-pot that US investors are interested in. Apart from offshore drilling in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), Pakistan has good prospects for oil and gas in Bannu, North Waziristan and Balochistan's Marri tribal areas. The deal, nonetheless, has come with some preconditions. Reports say Pakistan has made a major concession to the US by exempting 5% tax imposed on foreign tech firms and online platforms on supply of digitally-ordered goods and services. That means Pakistan will suffer a loss of billions of rupees, as the new tax was announced in the recently passed federal budget. It is, however, not clear how the IMF will react to it as it has been irked on some of the waivers that were doled out to domestic sectors.
Express Tribune
15 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Peace in South Asia threatened by Indian policies, says Tarar
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar speaking during the National Assembly session in Islamabad on May 6. — Photo: Radio Pakistan Listen to article Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar warned on Thursday that India's actions could destabilise peace across South Asia. Addressing a policy dialogue on peace in the region, Tarar alleged that India was involved in regional terrorism and pointed to its role in the Pulwama incident. He reiterated Pakistan's longstanding position that the country has itself been a victim of terrorism and has lost 90,000 lives in the war against it. "Pakistan made sacrifices to protect the world from terrorism," Tarar stated, adding that accusing Pakistan of involvement in Pulwama was unjustified. He noted that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had offered an investigation into the attack during his address at Kakul, but India showed no interest due to its aggressive stance. "Modi is politically weaker today than ever before in India's recent history," Tarar added, asserting that despite Pakistan's calls for peace, the government ensured its intentions were not mistaken for weakness. Read: FO rejects New Delhi's Op Sindoor claims He also accused India of attempting to weaponise water, questioning how any one country could unilaterally terminate an international treaty. Tarar said journalists were shown the areas India blamed for Pulwama to prove the baselessness of the allegations. Earlier on Wednesday, Pakistan "categorically rejected" Indian claims made during a parliamentary debate on the so-called "Operation Sindoor," accusing New Delhi of distorting facts, glorifying aggression, and pursuing domestic political mileage through provocative narratives. In an official statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the spokesperson said that the assertions made by Indian leaders during the Lok Sabha debate reflected a "dangerous tendency" to misrepresent the truth and justify unilateral aggression. "Pakistan categorically rejects the baseless assertions and provocative claims made by the Indian leaders during the Lok Sabha debate on the so-called 'Operation Sindoor'," the spokesperson said. "These statements reflect a dangerous tendency to distort facts, justify aggression, and glorify conflict for domestic consumption."
Business Recorder
a day ago
- Business Recorder
SCA urges govt to de-regulate sugar industry, sector
HYDERABAD: The Sindh Chamber of Agriculture has strongly criticized the government's sugar policies and demanded to de-regulate the sugar industry and sugar sector be removed from government control. The Chamber termed the government's decision to import sugar from abroad as an 'economic massacre' of sugarcane farmers. It also once again appealed to Sindh farmers not to cultivate wheat in the upcoming 2025-2026 season. In a Statement issued from the Chamber's central headquarters in Hyderabad, Professor Dr. Syed Nadeem Qamar, the Central Chief Patron and President of the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture, harshly criticized the government's policies regarding sugar industries. He demanded that sugar industry must be de-regulated like wheat and other crops, and removed from government intervention. The sugar industry should be governed by market forces of supply and demand. He further said that the government should avoid importing sugar, as by June 30, 2025, the country already had a stockpile of 2.5 million metric tons of sugar, which would be sufficient until mid November 2025. With a monthly consumption of approximately 533,000 metric tons, the current stock would easily meet the national demand until mid-November 2025. He noted that sugar mills will be ready to start crushing by October 25, which will ensure fresh supply into the market, thereby saving valuable foreign exchange. He also highlighted that 80% of sugar consumption is by corporate sectors like soft drink factories, biscuit factories, bakeries, confectionery, and other commercial products, while only 20% is consumed by households. Therefore, keeping sugar prices under government control benefits commercial traders more than household consumers. He warned that if sugar is imported, it will arrive in Pakistan by the end of October 2025, while the local crushing season begins from November 1, 2025. This overlap would result in local farmers not receiving fair prices for their sugarcane crop. He also predicted a bumper sugarcane crop this year due to timely monsoon rains. The Chamber stated that the decision to import sugar would amount to economic murder of sugarcane farmers, as sugar mill owners would use the imported sugar as an excuse to deny fair prices to local Sugarcane growers. In the current inflationary period, the minimum price for sugarcane should be no less than Rs. 600 per 40 kg (maund). He reminded that under IMF pressure, the government has already withdrawn from buying wheat and removed it from official controls. If such deregulation is possible for wheat and the government no longer sets support prices, then there is no moral justification for the government to fix prices for sugar or other commodities. He also criticized the government's directive to sell sugar at Rs. 165--170 per kilogram, demanding that sugar be governed solely by market demand. Farmers have already suffered heavy losses in wheat, cotton, mustard, vegetables, and other crops. Their last hope lies in getting a fair price for their sugarcane. The Sindh Chamber of Agriculture urged all farmers in Sindh to completely boycott wheat cultivation in the 2025-2026 seasons and only grow it for their personal household consumption only because we feel that growers like last year will again loose the money in this crop. The wheat growing expenses are more than the income in this crop. We want to save the growers from continuous financial loss in the wheat crop. The growers of wheat will painfully celebrate year 2025-26 as wheat growing boycott year. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
