HYDERABAD: Leaders of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) have said that power tariffs will have to be brought at a par with other countries of the region to ensure economic growth and stability. They also criticised coercive measures being taken by the FBR against businessmen and industrialists.

FPCCI patron in chief S.M. Tanvir (of the United Business Group) and President Atif Ikram were speaking at two receptions hosted on Monday and Tuesday by Iqbal Baig (a former patron and senior vice president of the Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry) and Saleem Memon (the outgoing president of the Hyderabad Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industry) in their honour.

Mr Tanvir urged the government to address issues of multiple taxes, institutional oversight and fuel crisis. He said that independent power producers (IPPs) had undermined Pakistan’s future. He said soon after winning FPCCI elections, his group analysed economic issues of the country and found out that electricity was costing the business community 17 cents when compared with seven cents in other countries of the region. “With this huge difference, we can’t be competitive in the market,” he said.

Similarly, he said, the policy rate stood at 22pc while taxation issues were known to everyone. He said that the FPCCI took up this issue forcefully to challenge the “mafia” with the result that electricity cost was reduced from 17 cents to 12 cents now. “But this five-cent reduction, can’t help industry; energy cost has to be brought down to seven cents,” he stressed.

Wants power tariffs brought down drastically to ensure economic growth

Mr Tanvir also expressed his concern over the ongoing wars. As long as these wars remained unending, inflation could not be controlled, he said.

“We have been telling government that it is our ‘partner’ because it takes away a major chunk of our economic returns. Has anyone seen that one partner subdues, intimidates and subjects the other partner to excesses? It never happens in the world, but we are surviving in this culture. Already, factories are not performing amidst expensive energy generation and multiple taxation, the FBR’s coercive measures are a source of major concern for us,” he noted.

He regretted that the FBR was intruding into factories and humiliating people; all this could not be overlooked. “We never question administrative actions against defaulting entities because we believe that a businessman is under obligation to pay taxes as it is essential for running the economy,” he said.

Mr Tanvir called for establishing more special economic zones on the pattern of those established in Dhabeji and Khairpur.

Atif Ikram Shaikh assured the business community of FPCCI’s full cooperation as far as the solution of their problems was concerned. He said he would consult the Federal Railways Minister to start cargo service in Hyderabad. It would benefit the business community of the city, he said. Masood Pervez, Patron of the Hyderabad Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industry, hailed FPCCI initiatives.

Its outgoing president Saleem Umer Memon said that businessmen were contributing heavily to the national economy. He said that FBR needed to simplify their taxation system for small traders and businessmen. He said that Hyderabad city deserved better infrastructure and industrial facilities.

President-elect of the small traders’ chamber Nadeem Siddiqui said that Hyderabad SITE was contributing Rs120 to Rs200 billion through industrial production. It could generate more revenues but the SITE area had been hit by poor infrastructure, he said, and stressed that it should be upgraded.

Published in Dawn, September 30th, 2026