PESHAWAR: Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) President Malik Imran Ishaq has urged government to address the problems facing small industries on a priority basis, saying small businesses and industrial units play a vital role in economic growth, employment generation and livelihood creation.
According to a statement issued here on Tuesday speaking at a meeting with a delegation of the Small Industrialists Association, Kohat Road, Peshawar, he reaffirmed the chamber’s commitment to promoting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through policy advocacy and support for their products and services.
The delegation was led by the association’s President Wahid Arif Awan and Chairman Engr Maqsood Anwar Pervaiz. It highlighted a range of issues confronting small industrialists and called upon the chamber to take them up with the relevant government authorities.
These included the provision of electricity through wheeling arrangements, rationalisation of power tariffs, problems faced by arms manufacturers, enforcement actions related to digital invoicing, closure of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, difficulties in obtaining bank loans because of stringent conditions, double taxation and a steep increase in charges imposed by the Small Industries Development Board (SIDB).
The delegation also expressed concern over rising greenbelt management costs, restrictions on goods vehicles entering the industrial estate, delays and financing difficulties in constructing its main gate on the Ring Road side, anti-encroachment operations and hurdles in footwear exports.
Mr Ishaq urged commercial banks to simplify loan application procedures and reduce interest rates to facilitate investment and growth in the SME sector.
He called on the government to introduce special incentives and loan schemes to attract investment, promote industrialisation and create employment opportunities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Emphasising the need to strengthen the industrial base, he also called for the up-gradation of existing small industrial estates and the establishment of new ones.
The SCCI president assured the delegation that the chamber would take up the issues with the relevant authorities and pursue their resolution.
Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2026
