Karachi:
After condemning both the federal and Sindh budgets for 2025-26, business leaders called on mandatory changes before their approval.
They said neither the budget fulfills serious obligations nor offer direct financial relief to micro and small businesses. They required significant revisions to increase allocations to Karachi-centric development projects. Pakistan’s prosperity is tied to Karachis, they said, warning that neglect of the city is to sabotage the national economy.
Businessmen Group (BMG) Chairman Zubair Motiwala and Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) President Muhammad Jawed Bilwani blasted the federal and Sindh budgets to the siding Karachi’s needs. By condemning budgets as deeply disappointing and discriminatory against Karachi, the country’s economic hub, they expressed serious concern over the continued neglect and denial of essential development funds to Karachi and Sindh as a whole.
Motiwala and Bilwani warned that chronic sub -investment and token budget distributions will aggravate the city’s infrastructure, bourgeois conditions and business.
They emphasized that Karachi contributes 67% to National Exchequer, 90% to the provincial revenue and 54% of the country’s exports. Refusing the fair development fund is not only a regional injustice, but a national threat, they complained. They urged both federal and provincial governments to revise their priorities and ensure that Karachi receives its proper share. The time of symbolic assignments is over. Karachi’s citizens and business now require concrete action, adequate funding and political will.
The two leaders also highlighted the underfunding of the Suclic-Hyderabad highway, an important project for Sindh and Karachi’s connection. Although the cost of the project exceeds RS400 billion, the federal budget only allocates RS15 billion – an amount they said reflects ignoring Sindh’s developmental priorities.
Karachi, Pakistan’s commercial capital, would benefit directly of the project’s completion, which made the lack of financing more about. Similarly, they pointed to the stopped K-IV water supply project. Despite being critical of a water-outniced Karachi, the project remains in Limbo.
Although the top officials, including the Prime Minister, have repeatedly promised support, the federal government has only allocated RS3.2 billion of the necessary RS150 billion.
This minimal allocation, they said, raising doubts about the government’s seriousness of solving Karachi’s water crisis.
KCCI leaders expressed disappointment at the Sindh budget 2025-26 and said the provincial government has also failed to meet Karachi’s needs. In its development expenses, the SINDH government only awarded the RS100 million for the K-IV project and RS15 billion to the Succur-Hyderabad amount they called meaningless for project execution.
Alarmingly, they said, this marks the third year without a single new mega project for Karachi. The only step was an RS8 billion allocation to continue previous projects, most of which progress at a snail pace. They criticized the ongoing delay in the K-IV project. Despite the growing demand for water, the city’s most important lifeline stays stopped. Meanwhile, millions of gallons are spilled and printed in the sea, while residents and industries suffer from water shortages.
Federal B area Association of Trade & Industry (FBATI) President Shaikh Muhammad Tehseen also criticized the inadequate allocations of both governments to Karachi’s industrial sector, infrastructure and water projects.
The budget reflects no serious efforts to solve chronic industrial problems such as crumbling infrastructure, water buttonness and instability of power – all undermining productivity and investor confidence, he said. He urged both governments to revise their budget decisions and allocate sufficient resources to support the resuscitation of the industrial sector. Former President of Hyderabad Chamber of Small Traders & Small Industry (HCSTSI), Muhammad Farooq Shaikhani, said the federal budget includes digital reforms and SME policy initiatives that sound good on paper but do not offer direct financial relief to micro and small businesses.
He said the new taxes on digital services and cash-on-delivery (COD) are too early and will burden small businesses. While the Sindh budget includes funds for infrastructure and social sectors, it does not prioritize industrial zones or SME support.
Both budgets, he said, focuses on macroeconomic goals, but ignores grassroots business. There is a clear gap between the government’s documentation drive and the actual incentives offered to small dealers and producers.
Shaikhani added that both budgets are not creating a conducive environment for small businesses.
The federal budget introduces new taxes – on digital services, cash on delivery (COD) and higher degree of withholding – without providing simplified schemes or financial support to small businesses. The Sindh budget also neglects trade infrastructure and offers no tax relief or subsidies for SMEs. It fails to address the rising costs of energy and insurmountable ingredients, he said.
Without practical incentives or consultations with affected sectors, both budgets appear more focused on revenue collection than on industrial or trade development, he added.
