The first Pakistan Halal Forum 2026 concluded in Karachi on Saturday, October 31, unveiling a roadmap to turn Pakistan’s small share of the global Halal economy into a $40–50 billion export opportunity under the theme “The Intelligent Halal Economy”.
What happened?
The day-long forum was held at the Pearl Continental Hotel in Karachi, bringing together national and international stakeholders to discuss the future of Pakistan’s Halal economy. The Halal Development Council (HDC) organised the forum in collaboration with the Pakistan Halal Authority (PHA) and International Halal Certification (IHC). DinarStandard served as the Knowledge Partner, while the World Halal Council (WHC) endorsed the event. The organisers described the forum as Pakistan’s first dedicated platform focused on the global Halal industry, which they valued at approximately $3 trillion.
Key details
- Organisers highlighted the gap between Pakistan’s large Muslim population and its share of the global Halal economy: Pakistan has the world’s second-largest Muslim population but accounts for less than 1% of the global Halal economy.
- The forum aims to help turn this gap into a $40–50 billion export opportunity, focusing on moving beyond raw material exports towards value-added and certified products.
- Organisers highlighted support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and a unified national certification framework under the principle of “One National Halal Mark, One Standard”.
- The programme featured keynote addresses, panel discussions, business-to-business networking and certification sessions, covering Halal food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, modest fashion, tourism, logistics, Islamic finance and technology-driven traceability.
- HDC Chairman Asad Sajjad said the forum marked the beginning of a wider effort to position Pakistan as a global Halal hub, with a focus on public-private partnership, innovation and export facilitation to connect Pakistani businesses with buyers in the GCC, Malaysia, Indonesia and beyond.
- IHC CEO Mufti Zeeshan Abdulaziz highlighted the growing role of technology in certification and product verification, including QR-code traceability, blockchain verification and artificial intelligence-based audits.
- The forum concluded with a commitment to make Pakistan Halal Forum an annual event, alongside plans for dedicated Halal Economic Zones, SME support programmes and investment facilitation for Halal industries.
What it means for people in Pakistan
For Pakistani exporters and small businesses, a unified national Halal mark and internationally accepted certification could make it easier to sell value-added products abroad rather than raw materials. The planned annual platform, Halal Economic Zones and SME support programmes point to steadier export channels for food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics and fashion producers, and to new work in certification and traceability technology.
