ISLAMABAD
\nThe All Pakistan Business Forum (APBF) has expressed strong disappointment over the State Bank of Pakistan\u2019s decision to maintain the policy rate at 10.5 percent, terming the move a missed opportunity to provide much-needed relief to businesses and revive economic activity. APBF leadership said that despite clear signals of easing inflation and improving external indicators, the central bank\u2019s status quo stance would continue to strain industrial growth, investment, and export competitiveness.
\nAPBF President Syed Maaz Mahmood said the business community had pinned high hopes on a reduction in the policy rate during the first Monetary Policy Committee meeting of 2026, especially as inflation has eased significantly and macroeconomic stability has improved. He stated that keeping the interest rate unchanged runs counter to market expectations and ground realities faced by traders, manufacturers, and exporters. According to him, the cost of borrowing in Pakistan remains prohibitively high, discouraging expansion, modernization, and new investments at a time when the economy needs momentum.
\nSyed Maaz Mahmood pointed out that while the SBP acknowledged improved growth prospects and stabilising inflation, it failed to translate these positives into a pro-growth monetary decision.
\nHe said industries are already grappling with high energy tariffs, rising input costs, and weak demand in global markets, and the continuation of a double-digit policy rate further compounds these challenges.
\nHe stressed that lower financing costs are essential for businesses to remain competitive, particularly in export-oriented sectors facing tough competition from regional peers with much lower interest rates.
\nAPBF Chairman Ibrahim Qureshi echoed these concerns, stating that the central bank\u2019s cautious approach may protect short-term price stability but risks undermining economic recovery.
\nHe argued that the real policy rate is excessively restrictive given current inflation trends and that a reduction would not have jeopardised stability. Instead, he said, a timely rate cut could have stimulated private-sector credit, boosted industrial output, and supported job creation.
\nQureshi highlighted that many regional economies have already shifted toward accommodative monetary policies to support growth, while Pakistan continues to lag behind.
\nHe warned that prolonged high interest rates could lead to further contraction in small and medium enterprises, which form the backbone of the economy. He also noted that reduced business activity ultimately affects tax revenues, undermining fiscal targets and limiting the government\u2019s ability to fund development spending.
\nThe APBF leadership urged the SBP to reconsider its stance in upcoming meetings and move swiftly toward bringing the policy rate into single digits. They called for a meaningful cut of at least 100 basis points to restore business confidence and unlock stalled investments. According to them, inflationary risks can be managed through coordinated fiscal measures rather than relying solely on tight monetary policy.
\nBoth leaders emphasised that sustainable economic growth requires a balanced policy mix that prioritises productivity, exports, and employment. They reaffirmed APBF\u2019s commitment to engaging with policymakers but stressed that without immediate monetary relief, Pakistan\u2019s businesses will continue to struggle, delaying the country\u2019s broader economic recovery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD The All Pakistan Business Forum (APBF) has expressed strong disappointment over the State Bank of Pakistan\u2019s decision to maintain the policy rate at 10.5 percent, terming the move a missed opportunity to provide much-needed relief to businesses and revive economic activity. APBF leadership said that despite clear signals of easing inflation and improving external …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":65974,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93093"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93093\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93104,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93093\/revisions\/93104"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}