AKTA cites widespread lockdowns, skyrocketing inflation and unemployment, and warns no economic recovery in sight for 2026
Small business owners have declared 2025 the “worst year” in the country’s history in terms of business activity, investment, unemployment and inflation. They said overall business activity remained below 60% throughout the year due to political instability and economic uncertainty.
According to a report prepared by All Karachi Traders Alliance (AKTA) President Atiq Mir, 2025 turned out to be a “year of closures” as a large number of industries and business units closed, leading to a sharp rise in unemployment. The report states that investor confidence was severely affected, while capital flight accelerated as local investors continued to move their funds abroad.
The report further states that persistent and unbearable inflation made 2025 a nightmare for the poor and middle classes, while the economy suffered setbacks on all fronts. He criticized policymakers for claiming that they had prevented default but had not protected industry and commerce from collapse and bankruptcy.
AKTA noted that the performance of government institutions remained extremely poor during the year. He alleged that despite the rulers’ 35 visits abroad in order to attract foreign investments, no mentionable investment materialized, while domestic capital continued to leave the country.
The report adds that there are no serious efforts or an effective economic strategy to get the country out of the crisis and warns that signs of improvement are not expected in 2026 either. The traders’ report highlights excessive taxes, the skyrocketing prices of electricity, gas, gasoline and the dollar, as well as the lack of curbs on artificial price increases, as important factors behind the continued economic decline.
It says basic commodities had gone beyond the reach of poor and middle-income groups, while traditional market activity, crowds and shopping trends remained absent even during peak sales seasons. Atiq Mir said that the unbridled expansion of indirect taxes pushed the workers and salaried classes into serious difficulties, with many of them facing unemployment and hunger.
The sharp decline in job opportunities, he added, also contributed to a worrying increase in crime. According to the report, 80% of merchants suffered losses, many were unable to pay their employees’ salaries, and more than 50% of workers lost their jobs. Rising store rents, electricity bills and operating costs became impossible to sustain.
The report criticizes the government for relying on artificial and misleading economic indicators to reassure the public instead of taking concrete measures to control inflation and revive trade and industry.
It further notes that while the stock market reached all-time highs, commercial and industrial activity remained at all-time lows. Prices of essential items such as pulses, cooking oil, milk, meat and vegetables continued to rise daily.
The report described Karachi, the country’s economic hub, as having become a “mafia-controlled city”, where traders and industrialists faced constant threats of extortion. The metropolis of more than 40 million inhabitants, he claims, continued to suffer from inflation, unemployment, encroachments, land grabbing, traffic congestion, water shortages, insecurity, anarchy and serious municipal mismanagement.
The AKTA report also criticizes the performance of the Sindh government, stating that, as in previous years, governance remained poor in 2025, with corrupt institutions failing to improve in any sector. The report alleges that price control agencies entered into agreements with speculative mafias instead of carrying out effective repressive measures, resulting in widespread artificial inflation in all markets.
