Naqvi urges businessmen to bring back at least 30% of their wealth to Pakistan

• Naqvi says $100b moved abroad in recent years.
• FIA to be made business-friendly: interior minister.
• Pakistan prepares to repay $3.5b UAE debt this month.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has urged businessmen to bring back at least 30% of their wealth to Pakistan ahead of the federal budget 2026-27.

“The business community are requested to bring back at least 30% of their money from abroad,” Naqvi said while addressing an event at Federation House in Karachi on Tuesday.

The minister’s statement comes at a crucial juncture as Islamabad prepares to repay $3.5bn to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this month and faces pressure on its foreign exchange reserves

Pakistan failed to reach an agreement with the UAE to roll over the debt for the first time in seven years. Islamabad will now repay the amount by the end of this month, putting significant strain on its foreign exchange reserves, which stand at about $16 billion, enough to cover just three months of imports, The News reported.

Pakistan is holding talks with Saudi Arabia and China to secure financial support, according to people familiar with the matter, The News reported while quoting a Bloomberg report.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also reached an initial agreement with Pakistan last month for the disbursement of a loan instalment of about $1.2 billion from a $7 billion funding programme. Pakistan has received about two dozen bailouts from the global lender since the 1960s.

Addressing the business community earlier today, the interior minister disclosed that around $100 billion went abroad over the past three to four years, stressing that even partial repatriation could provide significant economic relief.

“If businessmen decide today, $10 billion can come back before the budget,” the security czar added.

“We do not discuss how the money went abroad,” said Naqvi and warned that authorities could trace such flows if required.

“If someone thinks it cannot be traced, it would only take picking up one or two people in Karachi to find everything,” he warned.

Naqvi also assured the business community of improved conditions, saying Pakistan offers strong returns on investment. “The profit Pakistan offers cannot be found anywhere else in the world,” he said and assured them of providing a conducive business environment.”

He further said that proposals regarding visas for traders would soon be presented to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The security czar said that efforts were underway to make the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) more business-friendly. “We will make FIA affairs business-friendly,” he said, adding that the entire business community should not be penalised for the actions of a few.

“We cannot punish the whole business community because of one or 2% of people,” he added.

Naqvi also raised concerns about money changers, saying they were often used for managing private funds. “Money changers are only kept to manage one’s own money. No tourist comes and exchanges money through them,” he said.

“We have also held a meeting with the finance minister to ask what these money changers are doing,” he said.

The interior minister further disclosed that large transactions by major groups in Karachi had been detected and warned that there would be no leniency.

He also expressed hope of improving Pakistan’s global standing, stating: “We are trying to bring the Pakistani passport ranking from 99 to 50.”