Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday stressed the need to honour the International Monetary Fund (IMF) commitments, insisting that the government could not bid farewell to the programme just yet.

While talking to the business community at the Pakistan Stock Exchange, the premier said, “We need to honour IMF commitments — we can’t just say tata bye bye (say goodbye) once we take off.

“We will tell them goodbye forever once the time is right,” he said.

Regarding the business community’s role, the premier insisted that the government and the business leaders needed to “build their relationship to achieve those targets”, giving the example of their tax targets.

“If you look at what IMF stated [their target as]10.6 tax-to-GDP ratio, we have achieved 10.8,” he said. “It’s something to celebrate but this is not enough — this is just the beginning.”

The premier insisted that there was a need for investment now, recounting that the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) interest rate went from a record-high of 22 per cent to 13pc.

“Investors here say there is still a gap of 8 points — I would want it to go to 6pc,” he stressed, “But it has to be done with an alert mind, with prudence, so we don’t get trapped in the future.

“We have to move bravely but with caution,” he added. “Regarding that, how do we actualise export-led growth? Everyone says growth should be export-led, that FDI [foreign direct investment] should be export-led so that that profits come and dollars are present so we can retain them — all very well said but I need tangible proposals on how to implement export-led growth.”

The prime minister went on to compare Pakistan with Saudi Arabia “in a different context to the world”, highlighting that the country had mines and minerals while Saudi Arabia had “black gold”.

PM Shehbaz insisted the country had to head towards growth, adding that he knew that critics often spoke about “the engine heating up” and “Pakistan heading towards a boom-bust cycle once again” when it came to pursuing growth.

“A lot of experts have spoken and writers have written but I invite you to come tell us what other way is there?” he rhetorically asked.

On the privatisation side, the premier said that the privatisation process has been entirely transparent, citing the example of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) which the government failed to privatise in the first attempt.

“The entire process was totally 100pc transparent just like Islamabad Airport, which is about to be concluded in the next few days, and it is 100pc transparent,” he said.

Meanwhile, the KSE-100 index declined by 1904.23 points, or 1.64pc, to stand at 114,148.45 points from the last close of 116,052.68.

PM Shehbaz arrived in Karachi on a day-long visit, where he was expected to hold meetings with the Sindh chief minister and the business community, state-owned Radio Pakistan reported.

Upon his arrival at Karachi’s Faisal Air base, Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori and Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah welcomed him.

During his visit, the premier will tour the South Asia Pakistan Terminal at Karachi Port Trust, in addition to inaugurating the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR)’s Faceless Customs Assessment System there which aims to bring transparency to customs clearance, according to the report.

Furthermore, the prime minister visited Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), where he attended a ceremony honoring the exchange for being recognised as the second-best performing stock exchange globally in 2024.

PM Shehbaz also participated as the chief guest at the launch event of the Agha Khan University Manual of Clinical Practice Guidelines.