KARACHI: The President of the North Karachi Association of Trade and Industry (NKATI), Faisal Moiz Khan, has expressed his dissatisfaction with the State Bank of Pakistan's decision to maintain the policy interest rate at 11 percent. This decision, he argues, represents a significant setback for the nation's business and industrial sectors.

In a recent statement, Khan highlighted the business community's continuous appeals to the central bank to lower the interest rate to single digits, aiming to encourage investment and boost industrial growth. "The business community had expected that the State Bank would reduce the policy rate by at least two to three percent, but the decision to keep it unchanged is disappointing," he remarked.

Khan warned that the decision could jeopardize the efforts of Prime Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif and Field Marshal General Syed Asim Munir to stabilize and strengthen Pakistan's economy. He emphasized that a reduced policy rate would have enabled industrialists to secure bank financing for purchasing new machinery, potentially increasing industrial production and creating jobs.

The high cost of borrowing, according to Khan, has halted new investments and slowed industrial growth. "The private sector, already struggling with unbearably high gas and electricity tariffs, cannot afford the additional burden of expensive loans," he said. "As a result, the process of economic growth has virtually come to a standstill."