BMG Chairman Zubair Motiwala calls for urgent reforms, warning that crumbling roads, water shortages, unreliable utilities, corruption and rising crime are undermining Karachi’s industrial competitiveness and economic potential.
KARACHI: Business leaders have demanded urgent, coordinated action to address Karachi’s worsening civic and economic crisis, warning that deteriorating infrastructure, water shortages, unreliable utilities, corruption and street crime are imposing mounting costs on businesses and undermining the country’s economic potential.
Chairman of the Businessmen Group (BMG) Zubair Motiwala raised the concerns at a high-level meeting attended by trade body leaders, industrial town representatives and business community stakeholders.
Questioning how Pakistan’s economic powerhouse, which he said contributes approximately 67 per cent of federal revenue and 54 per cent of national exports, continues to suffer from crumbling roads, inadequate water supplies, unreliable electricity and gas, deteriorating sewerage and rampant street crime, Motiwala demanded time-bound action, institutional accountability and measurable results.
He stressed that Karachi needed practical delivery rather than repeated promises, calling for the early completion of the K-IV water project, a fully operational Safe City system and a proposed Karachi Bypass that could potentially divert 70 per cent of heavy traffic away from the city.
He also proposed mandatory road-restoration guarantees, independent engineering audits, transparent electricity billing, automatic compensation for service failures, regionally competitive gas prices, digital land records, faster tax refunds and a business-friendly tax regime.
Motiwala called for the identification of five immediate priorities, with clear institutional responsibilities, deadlines and performance indicators. He also urged Karachi’s trade and industrial associations to establish a unified platform to press authorities for corrective action.
Business leaders demand unified action
BMG Vice Chairman Anjum Nisar urged Karachi’s business organisations to move beyond highlighting problems and develop a common, actionable reform agenda.
He proposed producing a documentary exposing the city’s ground realities, including alleged corruption, extortion, excessive taxation and deteriorating infrastructure. He also called for permanent solutions to water shortages, completion of K-IV and a practical fiscal framework that provides local governments with adequate resources.
Nisar proposed joint pre-budget consultations involving the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and trade associations to formulate common recommendations. He stressed that businesses should strengthen collective representation before federal and provincial authorities and, if negotiations failed, consider coordinated protests.
Another BMG Vice Chairman, Jawed Bilwani, called for agreement on three or four decisive priorities, warning that Karachi’s longstanding problems would persist without sustained collective pressure and accountability.
He demanded implementation of the Safe City project, stronger action against street crime and land grabbing, protection of public land and transparent documentation of Karachi’s revenue collections and allocations.
Bilwani also questioned repeated road excavation and reconstruction, alleged resale of public land, missing manhole covers and encroachments on the Lyari and Malir riverbeds. He called for business community oversight of public works contracts to prevent waste of taxpayers’ money and ensure construction quality.
He further proposed a coordinated response to serious attacks on traders, including the possibility of a citywide shutdown if a trader was killed.
Calls for business representation in public institutions
BMG Vice Chairman Mian Abrar Ahmed called for permanent representation of the Karachi business community in key government bodies and public-sector institutions responsible for infrastructure, utilities and economic development.
He specifically referred to the Sindh Assembly, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and the K-IV water project, arguing that businesses remained inadequately represented in decisions directly affecting the city.
Ahmed said institutional representation could improve transparency, strengthen accountability and allow business leaders to communicate ground realities directly to policymakers. He also backed a KCCI resolution passed on September 30 seeking stronger participation in decision-making.
BMG Vice Chairman Tariq Yousuf identified corruption and networks facilitating illegal activities as major obstacles to improving Karachi’s civic conditions.
He questioned the occupation of roads and streets by commercial establishments, alleged tolerance of traffic violations and illegal electricity connections, arguing that the public ultimately paid through congestion, inconvenience and unequal access to essential services.
Yousuf called for decisive action against the unlawful occupation of public spaces and misuse of civic resources.
KCCI proposes 15-day reform agenda
KCCI President Talat Mahmood proposed forming a representative committee of Karachi’s trade and industrial associations to prepare an actionable reform agenda within 15 days.
He called for issue-specific subcommittees, comprehensive terms of reference, regular progress reports and a joint press conference involving industrialists, traders and small businesses to demand concrete action from federal and provincial governments.
Mahmood also proposed a dedicated anti-corruption initiative to investigate complaints involving public offices, including the Sub-Registrar’s Office and the Sindh Building Control Authority, citing allegations of substantial unofficial payments despite prescribed fees.
He said the approximately 91 per cent electoral support received by BMG should translate into tangible results through unity, clear responsibilities and sustained engagement.
Concluding the meeting, Mahmood proposed establishing five committees comprising nominees from all participating trade and industrial associations. These committees would finalise recommendations and terms of reference within 15 days, followed by regular progress reviews and coordinated engagement with the authorities.
KATI seeks action on water, pollution and revenue transparency
Deputy Patron-in-Chief of the Korangi Association of Trade & Industry (KATI) Zubair Chhaya called for a non-political campaign focused on implementation and accountability.
He proposed a dedicated authority to manage Karachi’s fragmented sewerage system, faster implementation of Safe City, coordinated road and utility works, digitisation of land records and action against encroachments, illegal parking and corruption.
Chhaya also warned that untreated municipal and industrial wastewater was damaging marine ecosystems and threatening public health, calling for environmental laws to be enforced equally against public and private entities.
Questioning the transparency of Karachi’s revenue allocation, he cited Sindh Revenue Board collections of Rs372 billion, approximately 95 per cent of which he attributed to Karachi. He also estimated annual infrastructure development cess collections at Rs150 billion to Rs175 billion and demanded full disclosure of collections and expenditure.
KATI President Sheikh Umer Rehan similarly called for institutional reforms, devolution of powers and performance-based accountability. He criticised additional compliance burdens on documented businesses, including digital invoicing and surveillance-camera requirements, arguing that the government should focus on expanding the tax base and bringing untaxed economic activity into the system.
Parliamentary intervention sought over power and gas
MNA Mirza Ikhtiar Baig pledged parliamentary support for addressing Karachi’s infrastructure and economic challenges, saying that projects including K-IV and the proposed Lyari elevated expressway had been taken up at the parliamentary level, with efforts underway to address funding gaps.
Baig opposed prolonged area-wide electricity load-shedding that affects consumers who regularly pay their bills because of the defaults of others.
He proposed a meeting involving Federal Minister for Energy Awais Leghari, KCCI, Karachi’s MNAs and K-Electric to seek immediate solutions. He also called for further engagement on the withdrawal of gas supplies to industrial captive power plants and the implications for production costs and competitiveness.
Former KCCI President Zakaria Usman urged the business community to replace ceremonial engagements with a sustained campaign against corruption, fraudulent property documentation and land grabbing. He also highlighted administrative inefficiencies and delays in legitimate tax refunds.
Chairman of the Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD) Hanif Gauher called for coordinated action against extortion, deteriorating law and order, land grabbing and alleged corruption in regulatory institutions, warning that isolated efforts by individual associations would achieve little.
Traders raise concerns over taxation and regulatory burdens
Chairman of the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association Malik Khuda Baksh sought KCCI’s intervention over 15 notices reportedly issued by the FBR to petrol pumps concerning digital invoicing.
He maintained that petroleum dealers operate as commission agents and questioned the legal basis for requiring them to issue digital invoices in the manner demanded. He said the association had already held two meetings with the Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue and had another meeting scheduled with the FBR chairman on Tuesday.
President of the North Karachi Association of Trade & Industry Faisal Moiz called for a streamlined, business-friendly administrative framework for industrial estates, commercial markets and economic hubs.
Former KCCI President Abdullah Zaki proposed a boycott if meaningful progress on land grabbing was not achieved within six months, while President of the Federal B. Area Association of Trade & Industry Raza Hussain called for clear responsibilities, formal grievance channels and effective follow-up mechanisms.
Chairman of the Warehouse & Logistics Association Naveed Farooki urged KCCI to institutionalise monthly or quarterly meetings to monitor progress. He said alleged corruption and demands for unofficial payments by regulatory bodies, including the Sindh Food Authority, EOBI and SESSI, were increasing operational costs and placing additional pressure on businesses.
Former KCCI President Iftikhar Ahmed Vohra called for a common resolution outlining shared priorities and a coordinated strategy, while former SITE Association of Industry President Saleem Parekh urged the restoration of business community representation in institutions including the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, K-Electric, Sui Southern Gas Company and KMC.
Representative of the Pakistan Hotels Association Ather Bhutto called for long-term infrastructure planning and stronger accountability, citing Shanghai as an example of urban transformation. He advocated universal water metering, action against water theft, improved revenue recovery, ring roads, modern transport infrastructure and basic public facilities.
Business community seeks measurable results
Leader of the Pakistan Cloth Merchants Association Ahmed Chinoy proposed a dedicated implementation committee under KCCI to translate the reform agenda into a time-bound 100-day action plan.
Under his proposal, priorities and responsibilities would be identified within the first 15 days, relevant government departments engaged and commitments secured by day 30, followed by systematic monitoring of progress from day 31 to day 90.
Across the meeting, business leaders repeatedly emphasised that Karachi’s civic and economic challenges required collective action rather than fragmented efforts by individual associations.
The participants called for a unified, evidence-based campaign built around clear priorities, institutional accountability, deadlines and transparent monitoring.
The central demand was that Karachi’s substantial contribution to Pakistan’s economy should be matched by improved public services, reliable utilities, effective law enforcement and infrastructure capable of supporting industrial expansion, exports and long-term economic growth.