By Our Correspondent
NANKANA SAHIB — President of the Nankana Sahib Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sardar Mian Nadeem Jalandhar, on Thursday urged the government to reduce the interest rate to 11% in the January 2026 monetary policy, provide cheaper electricity to industries and announce a 10-year industrial policy.
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Addressing a news conference at his office, Jalandhar said the Consumer Price Index for December 2025 stood at 2.7%, while interest rates in other regional countries were significantly lower.
He said the burden of providing subsidized electricity to lifeline consumers should be met through the federal budget rather than through cross-subsidies imposed on industry, calling such measures an indirect tax that businesses can no longer afford.
To boost exports, Jalandhar demanded the restoration of the final tax regime, a reduction of the 1.25% turnover tax to zero, a cut in corporate tax for non-bank companies from 39% to 20% and a reduction in the maximum tax on the salaried class to 15%.
He also called for the gas price for industries to be fixed at Rs. 2,300 per MMBTU.
Jalandhar said a long-term, at least 10-year, industrial policy with clear tax and electricity pricing would help ensure investor confidence, job creation and sustained industrial growth.
