Mian Zahid Hussain, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum & All Karachi Industrial Alliance, Chairman National Business Group Pakistan, Chairman Policy Advisory Board FPCCI, and Former Provincial Minister Information Technology, said today that the economy has officially shifted from stabilization to an “acceleration phase,” evidenced by a 10.37% surge in Large-Scale Manufacturing (LSM) and the Pakistan Stock Exchange hitting historic highs near the 189,000-point level.
Speaking to the business community, Mian Zahid Hussain welcomed the government’s recent “Industrial Relief Package,” specifically the reduction of the Export Refinance Scheme (ERS) rate to 4.5% and the Rs 4.04 per unit cut in industrial power tariffs. He noted that these measures will further contribute to the revitalization of the manufacturing sector, where the automobile industry has already posted a massive 79% growth, followed by an 18% increase in petroleum products and a 10.9% rise in garment production. He added that the HBL Manufacturing PMI hitting a 10-month high of 52.8 is a clear indicator that factories are reopening and hiring is picking up pace.
The veteran business leader also congratulated the capital markets on the upcoming transition to the T+1 Settlement System starting February 9. He termed this a “modernization milestone” that will double market liquidity and align Pakistan with major global exchanges, further boosting investor confidence that has already driven the KSE-100 index to gain over 10,000 points in January alone.
However, Mian Zahid Hussain sounded a note of extreme caution regarding the textile export sector. He warned that while the domestic economy is recovering, the export base is facing an existential threat following the conclusion of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement, and probable trade deal between US and India. He highlighted that this deal effectively neutralizes Pakistan’s GSP Plus advantage, as Indian textiles will now enter the European market duty-free.our
“Despite the Prime Minister’s relief, the ‘hidden tax’ of cross-subsidies—amounting to Rs 5 to Rs 7 per unit—remains embedded in our energy bills,” he stated. “With a cotton shortfall leaving us at just 5.54 million bales against a target of 10.2 million, our cost of production is aggregately 34% higher than regional competitors like Vietnam and India.” We cannot compete globally if we are forced to subsidize the inefficiencies of the power sector while paying for expensive imported cotton.
Mian Zahid Hussain urged the government to treat the textile decline as a “National Emergency.” He called for the immediate implementation of the Mobile & Electronic Devices Policy 2026-33 to diversify exports but stressed that the “bleeding” in textiles must be stopped first. He demanded a “Level Playing Field Tariff” that permanently removes cross-subsidies, ensuring that Pakistani exporters can compete with the 7-cent energy rates enjoyed by their regional counterparts.
