Pakistan Industrial and Traders Association (PIAF) while terming the fuel adjustment charges in the electricity bills a 'robbery' urged the Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani to abolish this self-made tax immediately.
PIAF Chairman Sohail Lashari said in a statement on Friday that industrial sector was already in deep trouble due to various challenges like energy crisis, deteriorating law and order situation and high cost of doing business but instead of taking some relief measures, NEPRA and other departments were creating more hurdles for the businessmen.
He said that continuous increase in electricity tariff was earning bad name for the government besides hitting economic targets hard. Soon after assuming the office, the prime minister announced a number of projects to increase electricity production but unfortunately the electricity situation was still the same, he added.
He said that industrial growth in the country was the lowest in the region while the rate of inflation was the highest as compared to other regional countries. Not only the graph of poverty was going up with every passing day but unemployment was also touching the alarming levels, he added.
Lashari said that despite a strong opposition by the private sector, the government adopted the path of rental power stations that had jacked up the cost of Pakistani products manifold and they were becoming uncompetitive in the international market.
He said that due to unrealistic policies of the present regime, a large number of industrial units have shifted their operations to other countries while a number of industrialists were also thinking of shifting their units. He demanded of the government to eliminate the unjustified fuel adjustment charges in the electricity bills immediately and take measures to generate sufficient and cheap electricity in the country.
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