President Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), Mian Rashid Iqbal has expressed concern over the one percent increase in the policy rate by the State Bank of Pakistan and demanded of the higher authorities to take measures for reduction in it, keeping in view the country’s poor economic condition. In a statement issued here on Saturday, the MCCI president said that it was impossible to run the business at the highest interest rate with the increase in the Bank’s charges. An increase in the interest rate will reduce the industrial and commercial activities and create a shortage of capital to do business at the local level, he observed. Rashid said that the commercial financial institutions would increase it further by adding their charges after determining the interest rate by the State Bank and no business entity could take the risk of investing by taking the loan at such a high rate. The high interest rate in Pakistan was hindrance in the industrial development because the new investment will affect due to high interest rate and capital will be preferred to be kept into banks for safe profit instead of commercial activities, the MCCI president added. He said that the hardships of people were increasing due to artificial inflation along with general inflation. Rahid further said that Pakistan’s imports and exports were also affecting due to the high interest rate and deteriorating global economic conditions and demanded of the State bank to immediately reduce the interest rate.