Daily Times

Dr. Shahid Rasheed Butt, the former President of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), raised alarms on Sunday about the exodus of international investors from Pakistan due to unresolved issues and a challenging business environment. In a strongly-worded statement, Dr. Butt emphasized the urgency of addressing foreign investors’ concerns to maintain their presence in the country. “How can new investment come to Pakistan when both local and foreign investors are fleeing?” he questioned. He highlighted that numerous foreign companies in sectors such as oil, gas, pharmaceuticals, mining, telecom, and transport have either left Pakistan or significantly scaled down their operations. This trend, he noted, is detrimental to Pakistan’s investment reputation. Dr. Butt pointed out that Shell, after 75 years of business in Pakistan, sold all its assets to a Saudi retailer last year. Now, British American Tobacco (BAT) threatens to exit if taxes increase further. He criticized the uniform tax hike on all companies, suggesting instead that authorities differentiate between compliant companies and those evading taxes. He further accused the influential cigarette mafia of controlling 58% of Pakistan’s market with political support, thereby creating obstacles for tax-paying companies like BAT, which supports the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government financially. Dr. Butt lamented the burgeoning foreign investment in neighboring India and Bangladesh, contrasting it with the incompetence and poor planning of Pakistan’s politicians and bureaucracy. He cited high electricity and gas prices, a 22 percent interest rate, political instability, smuggling, and law-and-order issues as escalating challenges for industrialists. He warned that if the bureaucracy does not adapt to ground realities and facilitate investors, the country will face a further decline in investment.