PESHAWAR: Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry has termed the federal budget for fiscal year 2026-27 disappointing, not investment-oriented and business-friendly, and called the growth targets set for the next financial year completely unrealistic.

Reacting to the federal budget presented by Minister for Finance Mohammad Aurangzeb in the National Assembly on Friday, SCCI President Junaid Altaf told mediapersons here that no relief measures were announced for reviving Khyber Pakhtunkhwa industry.

The SCCI chief described the federal budget as falling short of the business community’s expectations, stating that the Rs15,000 billion revenue collection target for the next fiscal year was completely unrealistic as the current revenue collection target had already been missed.

Similarly, he said the GDP growth target was set at 15 per cent, but the 12 per cent target in the current fiscal year could not be achieved.

He criticised the government for proposing meagre funds for the merged districts in the next budget.

Mr Altaf insisted that it was an IMF-dictated budget, in which no relief was proposed for the business community and ordinary citizens.

He said the economy could not be turned around by merely decreasing taxes, and stressed the need for broadening the tax base.

However, he stated that some initiatives were welcome, like the abolition of the Super tax and the withdrawal of excise duty on anti-cancer medicines.

The SCCI president said the business community had suffered due to the prolonged closure of the Torkham border. He said exports from KP had dropped considerably due to the imposition of 1 per cent Provincial Infrastructure Development Cess, and now Punjab was also proposing such tax, potentially hindering export growth.

Regarding the privatisation of Discos and loss-making national institutions, Mr stated that it was a highly encouraging initiative because institutions like PIA and Pakistan Steel Mills were a big drain on the economy and their sale was a dire need of the hour.

The SCCI chief regretted that, while the SME sector was the backbone of the economy, no measure was taken to uplift the sector.

On the occasion, former SCCI president Zahidullah Shinwari said that industrial growth had stagnated and unemployment was rapidly increasing, but the budget ignored this.

Mr Shinwari said the heavy tax collection target was highly unrealistic and unachievable.

He added the inflation figure mentioned in the budget was also contradictory to the SBP statistics.

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2026