Published June 2, 2026 Updated about 3 hours ago By Recorder Report KARACHI: Mian Zahid Hussain, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum & All Karachi Industrial Alliance, Chairman National Business Group Pakistan and Chairman Policy Advisory Board of FPCCI, has expressed deep concern over the emerging news regarding the upcoming federal budget for the fiscal year 2026-27. He urged the government that after achieving economic stability, the national economy must now be steered toward a sustainable, growth-oriented path rather than running it on the traditional mechanism of merely increasing taxes and revenue. He noted that under strict IMF conditions, proposing a federal revenue target of 17.1 trillion rupees (17.145 trillion) for FY 2026-27, a one percent increase in the sales tax rate, and a heavy increase of up to 20 percent in the FBR tax targets reflects that preparations are being made to place the entire burden of the budget onto existing taxpayers and industries once again. Mian Zahid Hussain warned that if the direction of economic policies is not shifted toward productivity, exports, and industrial growth, business activities in the country will become completely paralyzed. Comparing economic data, he pointed out that although inflation has decreased and come down to single digits, the continuous stagnation of GDP growth targets remains alarming. The government’s decision to set the GDP growth target between 3.5 to 4.2 percent for the next fiscal year clearly indicates that Pakistan will not be able to achieve a five and a half or six percent growth rate next year either. Economic growth targets can never become a reality until relief is provided on import duties on raw materials, high energy prices, and heavy bank markup rates. He stated that the expected increase in the petroleum levy under IMF pressure will lead to a rise in inflation and an unbearable increase in the…