Business Community Outraged Over SBP’s Decision to Maintain Interest Rate: Zahid Iqbal Chaudhry

Islamabad (News Desk) – Former Vice President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI), Zahid Iqbal Chaudhry, has strongly criticized the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) decision to maintain the current interest rate, calling it unjust and damaging to the national economy.

Speaking to journalists in Vehari on Wednesday, Zahid Chaudhry said the move has sparked deep concern, frustration, and anger across the business community nationwide. He pointed out the contradiction between the government’s own economic indicators and the interest rate policy, noting that while official statistics and economic experts project declining inflation, the central bank has still retained a policy rate that is 780 basis points above the stated inflation rate of 3.20 percent. “This disparity is simply indefensible,” he said.

Zahid Chaudhry emphasized that the country’s industrialists, traders, and exporters are now asking how they can remain competitive in global markets when access to capital is prohibitively expensive and production costs remain high due to elevated interest rates.

He further stated that chambers of commerce, trade associations, and business stakeholders across Pakistan stand united under the leadership of SM Tanveer, Patron-in-Chief of the United Business Group, and Atif Ikram Sheikh, President of the FPCCI. “After due consultation, we will take a collective and decisive course of action against these misguided economic policies,” he said.

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