PBF urges economic safeguards in proposed 28th Amendment

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Business Forum (PBF) has approached senior political leaders with a call to incorporate broad economic protections into the proposed 28th constitutional amendment, according to a statement issued on Tuesday.

The forum said it had written to Nawaz Sharif, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, urging them to support constitutional measures aimed at creating a stable and predictable long-term economic framework.

In its communication, the PBF said repeated changes in policy have obstructed sustainable economic growth and undermined investor confidence. PBF President Khawaja Mehboobur Rehman said the business community is increasingly demanding continuity in economic policymaking so that long-term planning and investment can take place with greater certainty.

The organisation said parliament should use the opportunity presented by the proposed amendment to introduce constitutional provisions dealing with key economic principles. These, it said, should include fiscal discipline, currency stability and the institutionalisation of long-term economic policies as a basic constitutional commitment.

Concerns over post-devolution policy structure

The PBF also raised concerns about the impact of the 18th constitutional amendment on agriculture and industrial policymaking. It said the transfer of these sectors to the provinces has not produced the intended results.

According to the forum, farmers, industrialists and the wider business community still turn to the federal government for direction, especially on issues linked to fiscal policy, the federal budget and national incentives. At the same time, it said provincial governments often do not have the capacity or authority to offer substantial relief or provide unified policy direction in these important areas.

The forum recommended that agriculture and industrial policy frameworks either be returned to the federal domain or be managed through a strong constitutional arrangement that ensures national coherence and uniformity across all provinces.

It said such steps would help lower uncertainty, bring stakeholder expectations into alignment and improve the overall climate for investment.

Call for clarity and uniformity

The PBF further said that overlapping, and at times contradictory, regulations at the federal and provincial levels continue to discourage fresh investment. It described the situation as jurisdictional confusion in economic governance.

Rehman expressed the hope that parliamentary leaders would seriously consider the forum’s proposals and use the 28th amendment to put in place meaningful economic safeguards while setting a clear long-term policy direction for the country.

The statement said the forum believes constitutional backing for core economic principles would help reduce policy uncertainty and support a more consistent national economic strategy.