Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb says disruptions could affect services, industry, agriculture, exports and government revenue as Pakistan seeks to sustain economic growth.
ISLAMABAD, September 20, 2026: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has warned that long marches, sit-ins, strikes and road blockages could cost Pakistan’s economy around Rs120 billion a day, describing prolonged disruption as “self-inflicted pain” as the country seeks to move from economic stabilisation towards sustainable growth.
Aurangzeb’s remarks came as several groups announced protest campaigns in Islamabad over separate issues. Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) began its Islamabad march on September 20 over the petroleum development levy, while Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has announced a protest for September 27. Kissan Ittehad has also announced a march seeking relief for farmers.
Services sector faces largest estimated impact
In a recorded televised message, Aurangzeb said the government had worked with the Planning Commission’s economic wing to assess the potential impact of protests, road closures and interruptions to business activity, taking into account previous experience and prevailing economic conditions.
He said the assessment estimated losses of around Rs120 billion per day across major sectors.
The services sector could account for around Rs86 billion in daily losses, covering financial services, communications, transport, wholesale and retail trade and hospitality.
The industrial sector could face losses of approximately Rs25 billion a day, including disruptions affecting construction, finished goods, raw materials and supply chains.
Agriculture could account for a further Rs9 billion in daily losses, particularly through disruption to transportation, perishable goods, dairy products, agricultural supply chains and trade.
Aurangzeb also estimated that disruption could reduce government revenue by around Rs17 billion a day.
Exports and IT sector at risk
The finance minister warned that disruptions could affect exports at a time when Pakistan was seeking to expand external trade.
He said the government had set a goods export target of $32.9 billion for the current fiscal year, representing expected growth of around 6 per cent. Daily goods exports average approximately $90 million, according to his assessment.
Aurangzeb said previous disruptions had resulted in exports being affected by almost 50 per cent in a worst-case scenario.
He also highlighted the growing importance of the information technology sector. IT and IT-enabled services exports are expected to rise from $4.6 billion to $5.5 billion, while IT exports had reached around $811 million during the first two months of the current fiscal year.
He cautioned that disruptions to internet connectivity could be particularly damaging to IT businesses, which he said had experienced substantial impacts during previous disruptions.
Pakistan seeks to sustain economic recovery
Aurangzeb said Pakistan had made significant efforts to achieve macroeconomic stability following a period of economic contraction.
He said GDP growth stood at 3.7 per cent in the last financial year, while the government expected growth to exceed 4 per cent during the current fiscal year.
He pointed to a recovery in large-scale manufacturing, improved corporate profitability and increased investment activity as indicators of improving economic conditions.
The minister also referred to activity at the Pakistan Stock Exchange, saying 11 initial public offerings (IPOs) were conducted during the previous financial year, followed by another five during the first two months of the current year.
According to Aurangzeb, these developments reflected investment and expansion activity by companies seeking to raise equity or establish new production capacity.
He said Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves had reached $21.4 billion, while the government was working to reduce expenditure and improve fiscal performance.
Aurangzeb also said tax revenues had increased by around 40 per cent over the past two years, while remittances and exports were showing positive trends.
Foreign investment and external pressures
The finance minister said Pakistan attracted $311 million in foreign direct investment in August, emphasising the importance of maintaining economic stability to strengthen investor confidence.
He said economic stability was a basic requirement for attracting investment, with stronger confidence among domestic investors potentially helping to encourage foreign investment.
At the same time, Aurangzeb highlighted external pressures facing exporters and businesses because of disruptions to global trade routes.
He said developments in the Gulf region and Bab el-Mandeb were contributing to supply-chain pressures, while freight and insurance costs had risen significantly.
The minister warned that additional disruption within Pakistan through strikes, road blockages or prolonged protests could impose further costs on businesses already facing higher international logistics expenses.
Workers and small businesses face direct impact
Aurangzeb said headline economic loss estimates did not fully reflect the people who could bear the immediate consequences of disruption.
He said ordinary citizens, daily-wage workers, small shopkeepers and small businesses could face direct financial pressure if economic activity was interrupted.
He also referred to Pakistan’s security challenges and the additional expenditure that could arise from security deployments, logistics, transport and fuel requirements during large-scale protests.
The finance minister said such costs could place an additional burden on the national exchequer.
Aurangzeb calls for dialogue
Aurangzeb urged political parties and other stakeholders to resolve their differences through dialogue rather than actions that could disrupt economic activity.
He said Pakistan had taken difficult decisions to achieve macroeconomic stability and was now attempting to establish a sustainable growth model based on exports, investment and productivity, rather than returning to previous boom-and-bust cycles.
“This is very hard-earned macroeconomic stability, and now we are moving towards growth,” he said.
Aurangzeb stressed that the transition from stabilisation to growth was a collective responsibility and called for efforts to preserve economic activity and investor confidence.
He said disagreements should be addressed through negotiations and consensus so that Pakistan’s economic recovery and investment momentum could continue.