KARACHI:

The business community has voiced sharp criticism of the State Bank of Pakistan's (SBP) decision to maintain the policy rate at 11%, calling it "incomprehensible" and "counterproductive" at a time when inflation has dropped to just 3%.

Leaders of the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI), the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), and the SITE Association of Industry (SAI) warned that the high interest rate, still the highest in the region, was choking industrial growth, discouraging investment, and undermining the government's own economic recovery plans.

Atif Ikram Sheikh, President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), has strongly criticised the SBP's decision to maintain the policy interest rate at 11

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