– demands 6pc interest rate, 9-cent power tariff, mentions and urges recognition of Pakistan’s Richest Job-Creating Entrepreneurs
By Our Correspondent
LAHORE – Former Federal Minister for Commerce and prominent industrialist Dr. Gohar Ejaz has called on the government to slash the interest rate to 6% and bring electricity tariffs down to 9 cents per unit, warning that without such measures Pakistan’s economic stability will remain in peril.
Speaking at an Independence Day ceremony attended by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, and Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik, Ejaz said that these steps could double Pakistan’s exports from $32 billion to $64 billion within four years. “No country can progress until its people have affordable food, housing, electricity, gas, and jobs,” he declared.
Ejaz presented Dar with a book listing Pakistan’s 20 wealthiest and most dynamic business groups, whose combined investments in the public and private sectors are worth billions of dollars. He urged the government to recognize these multi-billion-dollar entrepreneurs as strategic national assets and involve them directly in economic diplomacy, investment promotion, and policy planning — treating them as a viable substitute for IMF bailouts.
“Other nations take their top business leaders on official foreign trips for business-to-business negotiations. We mortgage our institutions for a $1bn IMF tranche instead of promoting our own industry and trade,” he said.
Ejaz criticized the high cost of borrowing, noting that Pakistan has been paying Rs9 trillion annually in interest to banks. “Even after inflation fell to its lowest level, we could not bring the interest rate down to 6%. Bank owners have become billionaires, while the government and the people suffer,” he remarked.
Recalling his recent campaign against Independent Power Producers (IPPs) that secured consumer relief despite fierce resistance from vested interests, Ejaz stressed that the government must prioritize investors who create jobs and contribute to economic growth over bureaucrats, so-called journalists, and non-productive figures when granting national awards. “Until we honor and empower our investors, we will remain trapped in debt and unemployment,” he warned.
Pakistan’s Top 20 Richest Business Groups (USD Value)
Rank Business Group / Company Value (USD)
1 Fauji Foundation $4.0 billion
2 Bestway Group $3.5 billion
3 Taba Group $2.0 billion
4 Pakistan Tobacco $1.18 billion
5 Ibrahim Group $1.0 billion
6 Aga Khan Foundation $954 million
7 Mian Mansha (Nishat Group) $920 million
8 Meezan Bank $840 million
9 Attock Group $840 million
10 Lucky Group $723 million
11 Unilever Pakistan $691 million
12 Ismail Industries $507 million
13 House of Habib $388 million
14 Kohinoor Group $357 million
15 JS Group $282 million
16 Systems Group $254 million
17 Bank Al Habib $240 million
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