Peshawar   -  Fazal Moqeem Khan, president of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), has called on the government and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to provide soft loans for the development of small-scale businesses and industries through commercial banks. He expressed concern during a meeting with SBP Chief Manager Waqar Ali at the chamber house on Friday.

Moqeem Khan highlighted that while commercial banks often invite business owners to take advantage of loan facilities, many are met with the discouraging news that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has been designated as a ‘red-zone’ for loan provision. He urged the central bank to issue directives to lift this designation to facilitate access to capital for local businesses. Furthermore, he emphasized the importance of improving the lending ratio of commercial banks, which he noted is not reflective of their growing deposits.

The meeting also included SCCI Senior Vice President Abdul Jalil Jan, Deputy Chief Manager SBP Muhammad Haroon, and Assistant Chief Manager Imran Khan. It was announced that the SBP will conduct an awareness session for the business community on November 19 at the SBP building and again on November 27 at the chamber house.

The participants agreed to collaborate on initiatives that would enable easier access to loans for traders and promote small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through joint ventures and projects. During the meeting, Chief Manager Waqar Ali and other senior officials congratulated the newly elected SCCI cabinet.

Moqeem Khan urged the establishment of one-window facilitation services for the business community to mitigate the ongoing ‘flight of capital’ and ‘brain drain’ from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He called upon both the government and the SBP to take an active role in the economic development of the province.

The SCCI chief stressed the necessity of uniform policy implementation nationwide, noting that traders, exporters, and importers face numerous challenges that require urgent attention.

He further advocated for the effective utilization of the province’s natural resources to transform KP’s economic landscape and curb the outflow of capital and talent.

The meeting concluded with a decision to arrange a joint session involving SCCI, SBP, and relevant department officials to explore viable solutions to the issues faced by the business community.