FPCCI says business community backs armed forces amid rising tensions with India

KARACHI: Pakistan’s top business leaders have voiced unified support for the country’s armed forces and rejected recent Indian accusations in the wake of the Pahalgam attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, calling the allegations “propaganda”.

At a press conference held on Friday at the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) headquarters in Karachi, Acting President Saquib Fayyaz Magoon said the entire business, trade and industrial community stands with the state and military as tensions with India escalate.

Magoon warned against India’s “threats to unilaterally block Pakistan’s river waters,” a move he said would violate the World Bank-brokered Indus Waters Treaty of 1960. He accused India of repeating its “pattern of blame” seen after prior incidents such as the 2019 Pulwama attack, calling them “glaring security failures”.

He noted that trade ties with India have long been minimal and largely one-sided. “Even when trade existed, it favoured India in terms of the bilateral balance. They lost their surplus when they chose to suspend trade,” Magoon said.

FPCCI Vice Presidents Abdul Mohamin Khan, Aman Paracha, Asif Sakhi, and Nasir Khan, along with senior business figure Bashir Janmohammad, echoed Magoon’s sentiments, stressing peace as a priority but affirming their readiness to support the nation in any crisis.

Janmohammad called for a complete halt to any trade with India “until issues are resolved with mutual respect and equality,” while Paracha accused India of derailing regional trade cooperation and economic integration in South Asia.

“Pakistan comes first,” said VP Asif Sakhi. “Our businesses exist because of our country -- sacrifice is not a question, it’s a duty.”

Nasir Khan criticised India’s internal security apparatus, arguing the Pahalgam incident revealed intelligence lapses. “They should look inward. Pakistan has no role in what happened,” he said.