- Naqvi says $100 billion has been transferred abroad in recent years.
- FIA must be made business-friendly: interior minister.
- Pakistan is preparing to repay the UAE’s debt of $3.5 billion this month.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has urged businessmen to repatriate at least 30 per cent of their wealth to Pakistan ahead of the 2026-27 federal budget.
“The business community is asked to bring in at least 30 per cent of its money from abroad,” Naqvi said at an event at the Federation House in Karachi on Tuesday.
The minister’s statement comes at a crucial time as Islamabad prepares to repay $3.5 billion to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this month and faces pressure on its foreign exchange reserves.
Pakistan has failed to reach an agreement with the United Arab Emirates to refinance debt for the first time in seven years. Islamabad will now repay that amount by the end of the month, putting a strain on its foreign exchange reserves, which stand at around $16 billion, enough to cover just three months of imports. News reported.
Pakistan is in talks with Saudi Arabia and China for financial support, according to sources familiar with the matter, The News cited a report as saying. Bloomberg report.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also reached an initial agreement with Pakistan last month for the disbursement of a loan of around $1.2 billion out of a $7 billion financing package. Pakistan has received about two dozen bailouts from the global lender since the 1960s.
Addressing the business community earlier today, the interior minister revealed that around $100 billion had gone abroad over the past three to four years, stressing that even partial repatriation could bring significant economic relief.
“If businessmen decide today, $10 billion could come back before the budget,” the security czar added.
“We do not discuss how the money went abroad,” Naqvi said, warning that authorities could trace such flows if necessary.
“If anyone thinks it is impossible to find him, it would be enough to intercept one or two people in Karachi to find everything,” he warned.
Naqvi also assured the business community of improving conditions, saying Pakistan offers strong returns on investment. “The benefits that Pakistan offers cannot be found anywhere else in the world,” he said, assuring them of providing a conducive business environment.
He further said that proposals regarding visas for traders would be presented to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif soon.
The security czar said efforts were underway to make the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) more business-friendly. “We will make FIA business good for business,” he said, adding that the entire business community should not be penalized for the actions of a few.
“We can’t punish the entire business community because of one or 2 percent of people,” he added.
Naqvi also raised concerns about money changers, saying they were often used to manage private funds. “Money changers are only used to manage their own money. No tourists come to exchange money through them,” he said.
“We also held a meeting with the Minister of Finance to ask him what these money changers are doing,” he said.
The interior minister further revealed that large transactions of large groups in Karachi had been detected and warned that there would be no leniency.
He also expressed hope to improve Pakistan’s position in the world, saying: “We are trying to bring down the ranking of Pakistani passport from 99 to 50.”
