- Naqvi says $100 billion has moved abroad in recent years.
- FIA must be made business-friendly: Home Minister.
- Pakistan prepares to repay $3.5 billion UAE debt this month.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has urged businessmen to bring at least 30% of their wealth back to Pakistan ahead of the 2026-27 federal budget.
“Business is being asked to bring back at least 30% of their money from abroad,” Naqvi said while addressing an event at Federation House in Karachi on Tuesday.
The minister’s statement comes at a crucial time as Islamabad prepares to repay 3.5 billion USD to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this month and is facing pressure on its foreign exchange reserves
Pakistan failed to reach an agreement with the UAE to transfer the debt for the first time in seven years. Islamabad will now repay the amount by the end of this month, putting significant pressure on its foreign exchange reserves, which stand at about $16 billion, enough to cover just three months of imports, The news reported.
Pakistan is holding talks with Saudi Arabia and China to secure financial support, according to people familiar with the matter, The News reported, citing a Bloomberg report.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also reached an initial agreement with Pakistan last month to disburse a loan of about $1.2 billion from a $7 billion financing program. Pakistan has received about two dozen bailouts from the global lender since the 1960s.
Addressing the business community earlier today, the Home Secretary revealed that about $100 billion went overseas over the past three to four years, stressing that even partial repatriation could provide significant economic relief.
“If businessmen decide today, $10 billion can come back ahead of the budget,” the security czar added.
“We are not discussing how the money went abroad,” Naqvi said, warning that authorities could trace such flows if required.
“If anyone thinks it’s untraceable, it would only take one or two people in Karachi to find everything,” he warned.
Naqvi also assured the business community of improved conditions and said that Pakistan provides strong returns on investment. “The profits offered by Pakistan cannot be found anywhere else in the world,” he said, assuring them of providing a conducive business environment.”
He further said that proposals regarding visas for traders would soon be presented to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The security czar said there were efforts to make the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) more business-friendly. “We will make FIA affairs business friendly,” he said, adding that the entire business community should not be punished for the actions of a few.
“We cannot punish the entire business community because of one or 2% of people,” he added.
Naqvi also raised concerns about money changers, saying they were often used to manage private funds. “Money changers are kept only to manage one’s own money. No tourist comes and exchanges money through them,” he said.
“We have also held a meeting with the finance minister to ask what these money changers are doing,” he said.
The interior minister further disclosed that large transactions by major groups in Karachi had been detected and warned that there would be no leniency.
He also expressed hope to improve Pakistan’s global standing, stating, “We are trying to bring Pakistan’s passport ranking from 99 to 50.”
