PM Shehbaz urges exporters to deliver

According to Business Recorder, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the government remains focused on export-led growth now that the economy has stabilised. Speaking virtually at an Arif Habib Corporation ceremony at the PSX in Karachi, he faulted export-oriented industries that have taken incentives for decades without the expected results. He declined to name them but urged them to correct course and help drive growth. He said earlier governments had given exporters large support, yet product prices rose while quality fell.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, appearing physically at the PSX Trading Hall, reviewed the IMF-backed reform programme and stressed fiscal discipline. He wants government borrowing to move from banks toward non-bank lenders and retail investors. On the Capital Market Development Council, he said officials are reviewing VCS, Sukuks and REITs, plus tax and regulatory reforms phased in with safeguards. The council, which includes the SBP governor and SECP chairman, is to report by year-end, and the SECP is drafting legislation for Parliament.

Aurangzeb projected 4% growth in fiscal year 2026-27, up from 3.7% in FY26. He warned that faster consumption-led growth, which could reach 6%, would produce a balance of payments crisis and push Pakistan back to the IMF. To avoid that, he said the government intends to pursue export-led sustainable growth. He added that tax filers have now passed 5.7 million, up from about 3.9 million last year, so about 45% are new arrivals.