All Pakistan Bedsheets and Upholstery Manufacturers Association Chairman M. Anees Khwaja has said that the textile sector is heading towards the disaster. In a statement here on Wednesday, he expressed his resentment to the suspension of gas supply to the industry for an indefinite period of time.
Anees Khwaja said while the government was accepting all the conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) just to get meagre financing of a few millions dollars, but it deprived of local industry of its basic requirements. As against the IMF financing, he said the local industry brought home billions of dollars without any preconditions.
"A number of Pakistani exporters, who are in Germany to attend Heimtextile fair, are left in a state of confusion whether to accept new orders amid the fears of non-completion due to energy crunch, losing new business opportunity," he added. He said that keeping in view the available resources of gas, the textile sector had already sacrificed two days and agreed to work for five days a week in the light of decision of Cabinet Committee on Gas Load Management.
He was of the view that the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) must comply with the agreed share of gas supply to the textile sector as per the load management schedule and must divert more by suspending supply to Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) and others, which could be converted to crude oil. "Already suffocating industry owing to shortfall of more than 4000 MW will have no space to breath in the absence of gas," he said.
Pointing to the other problems like prices of yarn, he said: "It was not such grave in nature as it was available though at high prices, but as far as the availability of gas and electricity is concerned, these are not available even at rising prices, which is an enigmatic and will result in a disaster beyond expectations," he said.
He urged the Ministry of Textile and Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources to intervene and direct the SNGPL authorities to take into confidence all the stakeholders before tacking any such decision. He said that thousands of families, dependent for their bread and butter on this industry, would lose their jobs if the current scenario prevailed for long and could lead to anarchy.
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