LAHORE:The United Business Group (UBG) has ended its alliance with the Businessmen Panel (BMP) and would contest the upcoming elections independently.
This was announced by Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Atif Ikram Sheikh; Regional Chairman and Vice President, Zaki Aijaz; President of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ali Hussam Asghar; former FPCCI Regional Chairman and Vice President, Abdul Rauf Mukhtar; and other prominent business leaders here at a press conference on Saturday.
They further announced that UBG Patron-in-Chief S.M. Tanveer would be the group’s candidate for the presidency in the upcoming elections.
The leaders stated that UBG’s alliance with the BMP Progressive Group, led by Saquib Fayyaz Magoon, had been successful and would continue. They recalled that UBG had won the previous election by a margin of 144 votes and expressed confidence that the group would secure victory in the upcoming elections by a margin of more than 200 votes. They attributed this confidence to S.M. Tanveer’s substantial contributions to the business community and his continued efforts to address its concerns.
They further explained that, following deliberations by UBG’s Core Committee and Subcommittee, it had been decided that UBG would no longer maintain an electoral alliance with BMP and would instead contest the elections independently.
The leaders also expressed reservations over BMP’s decision to share the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) publicly, describing the move as inappropriate.
They stated that UBG had repeatedly invited BMP’s leadership to various events and provided them with ample opportunities to express their views. However, they alleged that BMP had never reciprocated by extending similar invitations to UBG.
They further stated that BMP had announced its candidate for the position of Senior Vice President without consulting UBG. They also pointed out that BMP had terminated its agreement with the PBG Group at the Lahore Chamber, a development that contributed to UBG’s decision to end its alliance with BMP.
Commenting on their tenure at FPCCI, the leaders described it as successful overall, emphasizing that they had consistently worked to raise the issues and concerns of the business community effectively before government authorities and relevant institutions. They said every possible effort had been made to secure practical solutions to the challenges confronting businesses across the country.
The leaders reaffirmed that protecting the interests of Pakistan’s business, trade and industrial communities, addressing their concerns, promoting economic activity and contributing to the country’s overall economic development had remained their foremost priorities.