The Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) has assured the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) of closer coordination, direct engagement and support in addressing business community concerns, promoting investment and strengthening public-private sector collaboration.
During a visit to KCCI, Colonel Abdullah Khan Sherani, Joint Secretary (Military) at SIFC and Head of its Sindh Provincial Office, said that establishing a direct working relationship with the Chamber’s newly elected leadership was a key priority.
SIFC to Establish Direct Coordination with Business Bodies
Colonel Sherani, who recently assumed his posting as SIFC’s permanent provincial representative in Sindh, said he was meeting key stakeholders to understand the province’s business and investment landscape.
On the directions of SIFC Director General Asad ur Rehman Cheema, his first priority in Karachi was to visit KCCI, followed by engagement with other chambers and trade bodies across Sindh.
He emphasised the need to identify the most pressing business concerns, develop a clear priority list and pursue their resolution systematically through the relevant departments and authorities.
Acknowledging that several long-standing issues had already been raised at senior levels but remained unresolved, he assured KCCI that SIFC would play its facilitative role, keep its senior leadership informed and help take up matters requiring intervention by the Sindh government.
He added that some issues fell under the Regulatory Reforms Wing, while others required action at different administrative levels. SIFC would coordinate with the relevant wings and arrange further engagement with KCCI to ensure that concerns reached the appropriate forums.
BMG Calls for Practical Reforms to Revive Industrial Growth
Speaking at the meeting, Chairman Businessmen Group (BMG) Zubair Motiwala urged SIFC to translate its mandate into tangible results by addressing structural challenges affecting industrial competitiveness, the investment climate and export growth.
He said repeated meetings, presentations and assurances had failed to deliver meaningful outcomes, stressing that Pakistan urgently needed practical measures to reduce the cost of doing business, revive industrial activity and restore investor confidence.
Motiwala expressed concern over the gap between policy discussions and implementation, noting that business leaders had repeatedly highlighted critical economic issues in meetings with senior government officials, including the Prime Minister, without seeing adequate corrective action.
He emphasised that the challenges facing Karachi’s industrial sector extended beyond one city or chamber and reflected broader structural weaknesses in Pakistan’s economy.
“Pakistan’s economy is under severe pressure, industries are closing and entrepreneurs are reluctant to make new investments. Everybody acknowledges the problems when we raise them, but the real question is why no concrete steps are taken to resolve them,” he observed.
He said consultations with SIFC and other institutions would only be meaningful if followed by effective implementation.
Motiwala also highlighted the importance of industrial growth in generating foreign exchange, creating employment, improving law and order, supporting social stability and expanding fiscal resources for healthcare, education and poverty alleviation.
With population growth continuing and Karachi receiving additional migration from other parts of the country, he warned that insufficient investment and employment opportunities could further intensify socioeconomic challenges.
“Fundamental structural reforms are indispensable if Pakistan wants to attract investment and move forward economically,” he said, questioning whether the government’s Uraan Pakistan economic transformation initiative was being implemented meaningfully.
KCCI Seeks Urgent Action on Karachi’s Infrastructure and Investment Climate
KCCI President Talat Mahmood called on SIFC to pursue urgent, results-oriented measures to address Karachi’s deteriorating infrastructure, law and order situation, traffic congestion and other fundamental challenges discouraging investment and undermining export potential.
He stressed that Karachi’s economic importance warranted immediate attention at the highest levels. Pakistan, he said, could not attract meaningful foreign investment without first creating an enabling environment for domestic investors, who were already struggling with persistent structural and operational challenges.
Mahmood expressed concern over the limited visible impact of initiatives undertaken by SIFC and other relevant institutions. He said the business community had held high expectations when SIFC was established to facilitate investment and remove barriers to economic growth, but many of those expectations had yet to translate into tangible improvements.
He also regretted that Karachi had not received the infrastructure and connectivity benefits expected from the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Port Connectivity and Metropolitan Development Remain Key Priorities
Mahmood stressed that efficient port connectivity was essential for Karachi, Pakistan’s principal commercial and industrial hub. He urged SIFC to use its institutional influence to highlight critical infrastructure requirements in its recommendations and facilitate their consideration by the relevant government authorities.
He further called for Karachi to be recognised as a metropolitan economic centre whose performance directly affects Pakistan’s exports, revenue generation, employment and investment outlook.
The meeting underscored the business community’s demand for stronger institutional coordination, effective implementation of reforms and practical solutions to Karachi’s infrastructure and industrial challenges. For businesses, translating investment facilitation commitments into measurable improvements remains central to restoring investor confidence and strengthening Pakistan’s economic competitiveness.