Karachi:
After condemning federal budgets and Sindh for 2025-26, business leaders requested mandatory amendments before approval.
They said that neither the budget meets serious commitments nor does it offer direct financial relief to micro and small businesses. They demanded substantial reviews to increase assignments for development projects centered in Karachi. Pakistan’s prosperity is linked to Karachi, they said, warning that neglecting the city is equivalent to sabotaging the national economy.
The President of the Group’s Business (BMG), Zubair Motiwala and the president of Commerce and Industry of Karachi (Kcci), Muhammad, Jawan Bilwani criticized the federal and Sindh budgets for neglecting Karachi’s needs. Contenting budgets as deeply disappointing and discriminatory towards Karachi, the country’s economic center, expressed a serious concern about continuing negligence and denial of essential development funds to Karachi and Sindh in general.
Motiwala and Bilwani warned that chronic investment assignments and chronic insertion budget will worsen infrastructure, civic conditions and city business confidence.
They emphasized that Karachi contributes 67% to the national treasure, 90% to provincial revenues and 54% of exports in the country. To denying it with fair development funds is not only a regional injustice, but a national threat, they lamented. They asked federal and provincial governments to review their priorities and guarantee that Karachi receives their due participation. The time for symbolic assignments is over. Karachi citizens and business community now demand concrete actions, adequate funds and political will.
The two leaders also highlighted the sub-financing of the Sukkur-Hyderabad highway, a key project for the connectivity of Sindh and Karachi. Although the cost of the project exceeds RS400 billion, the federal budget assigns only RS15 billion, an amount, as they said, reflects the contempt for the development priorities of Sindh.
Karachi, the commercial capital of Pakistan, would benefit directly from the completion of the project, which makes the lack of funds more worrying. Similarly, they pointed out the stagnant K-IV water supply project. Despite being critical for a water hungry karachi, the project remains in limbo.
Although the senior officials, including the prime minister, have promised the support repeatedly, the federal government has assigned only RS3.2 billion rs150 billion necessary.
They said that this minimum allocation throws doubts about the government’s seriousness about resolving the Karachi water crisis.
Kcci leaders expressed their disappointment with the 2025-26 Sindh budget, saying that the provincial government has not been able to address Karachi’s needs either. In its development disbursement, the Government of Sindh allocated only RS1 billion for the K-IV and RS15 billion project for the Sukkur-Hyderabad highway, amounts that called meaningless for the execution of the project.
Said alarmingly, this marks the third year without a single mega project for Karachi. The only movement was an assignment of RS8 billion to continue previous projects, most of which are progressing at a rhythm of a snail. They criticized the ongoing delay in the K-IV project. Despite the growing demand for water, the city’s main life line remains stagnant. Meanwhile, millions of gallons are wasted and discharged into the sea, while residents and industries suffer from water shortage.
The president of the Federal Association of Area B of Commerce and Industry (FBATI), Shaikh Muhammad Tehseen, also criticized the inadequate assignments by both governments for the projects of the industrial sector, infrastructure and water of Karachi.
The budget does not reflect a serious effort to solve chronic industrial problems, such as crumbled infrastructure, water shortage and energy instability, all of which undermines productivity and investor’s confidence, he said. He urged both governments to visit their budgetary decisions and assign enough resources to support the rebirth of the industrial sector. The former president of the Merchants Chamber and the small Hyderabad industry (HCSTSI), Muhammad Farooq Shaikhani, said the federal budget includes digital reforms and SME policy initiatives that sound good on paper but that do not offer direct financial relief for micro and small businesses.
He said that the new taxes on digital services and cash delivery (COD) are premature and will load small businesses. While Sindh’s budget includes infrastructure funds and social sectors, it does not prioritize industrial areas or SME support.
Both budgets, he said, focus on macroeconomic objectives but ignore the sustainability of the base business. There is a clear gap between the government’s documentation campaign and the real incentives offered to small merchants and manufacturers.
Shaikhani added that both budgets do not create an environment conducive to small businesses.
The Federal Budget introduces new taxes (on digital services, delivery effective (COD) and higher withholding rates, without providing simplified schemes or financial support for small businesses. The SNDH budget also neglects commercial infrastructure and does not offer fiscal decline or subsidies for SMEs. It does not address the increase in the cost of energy and the unasshencious raw materials, he said.
Without practical incentives or consultations with the affected sectors, both budgets seem more focused on income collection than in industrial or commercial development, he added.
