KARACHI: Chairman Businessmen Group (BMG) Zubair Motiwala has called for an urgent, coordinated drive to rescue Karachi from its deepening civic and economic crisis, questioning how Pakistan’s economic powerhouse, contributing approximately 67 percent of federal revenue and 54 percent of national exports, continues to suffer from crumbling roads, acute water shortages, unreliable utilities, deteriorating sewerage and rampant street crime.
Addressing a high-level meeting of patron-in-chiefs, presidents, secretary generals and representatives of Karachi-based trade bodies and industrial town associations, Motiwala demanded time-bound action, institutional accountability and measurable results, stressing that Karachi needs delivery, not promises.
Highlighting the economic cost of civic mismanagement, Motiwala warned that unreliable electricity and gas, inadequate infrastructure and low industrial capacity utilization were driving up production costs and undermining competitiveness. He called for the early completion of K-IV, a fully operational Safe City system, a Karachi Bypass to potentially divert 70 percent of heavy traffic away from the city, mandatory road-restoration guarantees, independent engineering audits and a business-friendly tax regime. He also demanded transparent electricity billing, automatic consumer compensation for service failures, regionally competitive gas prices, digital land records and faster resolution of tax refunds.
Zubair Motiwala proposed identifying five immediate priorities, assigning responsibility to relevant institutions and establishing firm deadlines and measurable performance indicators. He also called for a unified platform of Karachi’s trade and industrial associations, backed by active participation from their members, to press the authorities for corrective action. Emphasizing that the objective was a liveable, secure and economically competitive Karachi, not political or administrative controversy, he urged all stakeholders to replace fragmented efforts and repeated assurances with a coordinated, results-driven strategy.
Vice Chairman BMG Anjum Nisar urged Karachi’s trade and industrial bodies to move beyond highlighting problems and develop a unified, actionable agenda to address the city’s worsening civic and economic challenges. To highlight the awful state of Karachi, he called for a common documentary exposing the city’s ground realities, including corruption, extortion, excessive taxation and deteriorating infrastructure. He advocated permanent solutions to water shortages, completion of the long-delayed K-IV project, and a practical fiscal model empowering local governments with adequate resources. He also proposed joint pre-budget consultations by KCCI and trade associations to formulate common recommendations. He emphasized stronger collective representation before federal and provincial authorities, consistent follow-up and, if negotiations failed, coordinated protest to secure Karachi’s legitimate rights, stressing that the city’s issues must be pursued as a common cause rather than individual organizational demands.
Vice Chairman BMG Jawed Bilwani urged Karachi’s business community to unite behind three to four decisive priorities, warning that the city’s longstanding problems would persist without sustained collective pressure and accountability. He demanded urgent implementation of the Safe City project, stronger action against street crime and land grabbing, protection of public land, and transparent documentation and allocation of Karachi’s revenues to meet its civic and infrastructure needs. Questioning repeated road excavation and reconstruction, alleged resale of public land, missing manhole covers, encroachments on the Lyari and Malir riverbeds and the risk of urban flooding, he called for business community oversight of public works contracts to prevent waste of taxpayers’ money and ensure quality construction. He also proposed a unified response to serious attacks on traders, including the possibility of a citywide shutdown if a trader was killed, and urged KCCI, trade associations, industrialists, transporters and small traders to launch a coordinated campaign through a joint press conference, emphasizing that only a united, evidence-based and uncompromising approach could compel authorities to address Karachi’s critical challenges.
Vice Chairman BMG Mian Abrar Ahmed called for permanent, direct representation of the Karachi Chamber in key government bodies and public-sector institutions responsible for Karachi’s civic infrastructure, utilities and economic development, including the Sindh Assembly, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and K-IV water project. Emphasizing Karachi’s strategic importance and substantial contribution to national revenue, he regretted that the business community remained inadequately represented in decisions directly affecting the city. He warned that corruption and bribery continued to obstruct business operations and argued that occasional meetings could not replace a formal role in decision-making. Backing the KCCI resolution passed on September 30, he stressed that institutional representation would improve transparency, strengthen accountability, provide reliable information and enable business leaders to convey ground realities directly to policymakers, making their meaningful participation essential to resolving Karachi’s longstanding civic and economic challenges.
Vice Chairman BMG Tariq Yousuf identified corruption and the networks facilitating illegal activities as fundamental causes of Karachi’s deteriorating civic conditions, questioning how roads and streets could be occupied by restaurants and commercial establishments, traffic violations tolerated, and illegal electricity connections established without financial arrangements benefiting those involved. He warned that the public ultimately paid the price through traffic congestion, inconvenience and inequitable access to essential utilities, including water, gas and electricity. Calling for decisive action, he urged the business community and relevant authorities to expose and dismantle the mechanisms enabling unlawful occupation of public spaces and misuse of civic resources, stressing that lasting improvement in Karachi’s infrastructure and public services would remain elusive unless corruption was confronted at every level.
President KCCI Talat Mahmood proposed constituting a representative committee of Karachi’s trade and industrial associations to develop an actionable reform agenda within 15 days, warning that further delays could undermine the unity and momentum needed to resolve the city’s longstanding problems. He called for issue-specific subcommittees to prepare comprehensive Terms of Reference (ToRs), regular progress reporting to KCCI and town association leadership, and a united press conference involving industrialists, traders and small businesses to press federal and provincial governments for concrete action. Highlighting Karachi’s persistent infrastructure deficiencies, he demanded a dedicated anti-corruption initiative to investigate complaints involving public offices, including the Sub-Registrar’s Office and Sindh Building Control Authority, citing allegations of substantial unofficial payments despite prescribed fees. Reaffirming the business community’s collective responsibility, he stressed that the approximately 91 percent electoral support received by BMG reflected stakeholders’ confidence and must translate into tangible results through unity, sustained engagement, clear responsibilities and coordinated follow-through.
Deputy Patron-in-Chief of the Korangi Association of Trade & Industry (KATI) Zubair Chhaya called for a coordinated, non-political campaign to resolve Karachi’s worsening civic and economic challenges, stressing that the priority must be implementation and accountability rather than repeated identification of problems. He advocated a dedicated authority to manage the city’s fragmented sewerage system, urgent implementation of the Safe City project, coordinated road and utility works, digitization of land records and decisive action against encroachments, illegal parking and corruption. Warning that untreated municipal and industrial wastewater was damaging marine ecosystems and that pollution threatened public health, he demanded equal enforcement of environmental laws against public and private entities. He also questioned the transparency of Karachi’s revenue allocation, citing the Sindh Revenue Board’s reported collection of Rs372 billion, approximately 95% of which he attributed to Karachi, and estimating annual infrastructure development cess collections at Rs150–175 billion, calling for full disclosure of collections and expenditure. Emphasizing that Karachi’s substantial economic contribution must translate into better civic services, he urged all trade and industrial associations to unite behind practical, prioritized recommendations and demand measurable results from the relevant authorities, irrespective of political affiliations.
MNA Mirza Ikhtiar Baig pledged coordinated parliamentary support to address Karachi’s longstanding civic and economic challenges, congratulating KCCI and BMG Chairman Zubair Motiwala on their electoral victory and collective initiative. Highlighting his engagement through parliamentary committees, he said key 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. He strongly opposed prolonged area-wide electricity load-shedding that penalizes regular bill-paying consumers for others’ defaults and proposed a meeting involving Federal Minister for Energy Awais Leghari, KCCI, Karachi’s MNAs and K-Electric to pursue on-the-spot solutions. He also called for further engagement on the withdrawal of gas supplies to industrial captive power plants and its implications for production costs and competitiveness.
Former President KCCI Zakaria Usman urged Karachi’s business community to abandon ceremonial engagements and pursue an assertive, sustained campaign to secure practical solutions to the city’s decades-old problems. Drawing on nearly 40 years of trade politics experience, he stressed that Karachi’s challenges were already well documented and required decisive action rather than further deliberations. He called for an uncompromising campaign against corruption, fraudulent property documentation and land grabbing, highlighting administrative inefficiencies, alleged demands for unofficial payments and prolonged delays in legitimate tax refunds.
Chairman Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD) Hanif Gauher called for a united, uncompromising campaign against extortion, deteriorating law and order, land grabbing and alleged corruption in Karachi’s regulatory institutions, warning that meetings and speeches would achieve little without sustained collective action. He urged KCCI, ABAD and industrial estate associations to strengthen the framework through joint consultation and a focused agenda. Citing security threats to businesses, including the reported killing of a security guard at a builder’s office, he stressed that individual associations could not effectively confront these challenges in isolation.
Leader of Pakistan Cloth Merchants Association Ahmed Chinoy called for a dedicated Implementation Committee under KCCI’s leadership to translate Karachi’s civic and economic reform agenda into measurable results through a time-bound 100-day action plan. Congratulating BMG Chairman Zubair Motiwala on bringing key stakeholders together, he proposed prioritizing issues and assigning responsibilities within the first 15 days, engaging relevant government departments and securing firm commitments by day 30, and systematically monitoring progress from day 31 to day 90.
President Korangi Association of Trade & Industry (KATI) Sheikh Umer Rehan identified institutional incompetence, weak accountability and administrative failures as fundamental reasons Karachi’s longstanding problems remained unresolved, urging comprehensive reforms, devolution of powers and strict performance-based accountability across public institutions. Drawing on his experience as KATI President in 2019 and following his re-election approximately seven years later, he questioned why the same civic and administrative challenges persisted despite repeated discussions. Criticizing the FBR for placing additional compliance burdens on documented businesses through digital invoicing and surveillance-camera requirements, he called for expanding the tax base, bringing untaxed economic activity into the net and strengthening the tax authority’s own capacity and governance.
Chairman 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, maintaining that petroleum dealers operate as commission agents and that no legal provision, in his understanding, requires them to issue digital invoices in the manner demanded. Informing participants that the association had already held two meetings with the Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue and had another meeting scheduled with the FBR Chairman on Tuesday, he expressed concern over the compliance burden and sought KCCI’s legal guidance to formulate a unified position.
President North Karachi Association of Trade & Industry Faisal Moiz urged KCCI to approach the federal government for a streamlined, business-friendly administrative framework for Karachi’s industrial estates, commercial markets and economic hubs, arguing that repeated consultations over six to seven years had failed to resolve the city’s fundamental problems.
Former President KCCI Abdullah Zaki questioned the effectiveness of engaging authorities over Karachi’s land-grabbing crisis. Urging the business community to abandon fruitless consultations and adopt a firm, united stance, he proposed a boycott if meaningful progress was not achieved within six months.
President Federal B. Area Association of Trade & Industry Raza Hussain urged KCCI and participating associations to translate discussions on Karachi’s civic, administrative and law-and-order challenges into a clear, actionable strategy, identifying the relevant authorities, formal channels for pursuing grievances, assigned responsibilities and effective follow-up mechanisms.
Chairman Warehouse & Logistics Association Naveed Farooki urged KCCI to institutionalise quarterly or monthly meetings to monitor progress on Karachi’s civic and economic challenges, warning that alleged corruption and demands for unofficial payments by regulatory bodies, including the Sindh Food Authority, EOBI and SESSI, were adding to businesses’ operational costs and mental stress.
Former President KCCI Iftikhar Ahmed Vohra urged Karachi’s trade and industrial associations to move beyond discussions and unanimously adopt a concrete resolution outlining shared priorities, practical measures and a coordinated strategy to address the city’s longstanding challenges.
Former President SITE Association of Industry Saleem Parekh urged KCCI to restore and secure business community representation in key institutions, including the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, K-Electric, Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), to enable direct engagement on water, electricity, gas and civic issues.
Representative of Pakistan Hotels Association Ather Bhutto urged Karachi to emulate Shanghai’s transformation through disciplined governance, accountability and long-term infrastructure planning, identifying corruption, water theft and weak public services as major impediments to progress. He called for universal water metering and effective enforcement to improve revenue recovery, development of ring roads and modern transport infrastructure, and provision of basic facilities such as public toilets.
Concluding the meeting, President KCCI Talat Mahmood proposed resolution to constitute five committees comprising nominees of all participating trade and industrial associations, mandated to finalize actionable recommendations and comprehensive Terms of Reference (ToRs) within 15 days. He further proposed regular progress reviews, close coordination with KCCI and town associations, and a united press conference involving industrialists, traders and small businesses to present the business community’s consolidated demands.
