Economic activities: Bureaucracy creating hurdles in resumption: blames SCCI chief

President Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) Muhammad Ashraf Malik has lodged protest over the irrational demands of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) to open up the factories.

Addressing a news conference last evening the President Chamber said that documents like L/C of confirmed order(s), Proforma invoice of confirmed orders and Confirmed purchase orders with specific details of buyers, were most confidential to the Export Sector which could not be shared with the Authorities.

Sialkot is a hub of largest SME based Exporters in Pakistan earning USD 2.5 Billion dollar through its exports and strengthening national exchequer he said. Ashraf further stated that the city had dynamics different than those of the other cities and needed a dedicated solution from the Federal Government. Trade bodies of this export hub were not consulate before drafting the procedure of opening up of factories he alleged. Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) was fully active to get the maximum facilitation for its members to help them sustain their businesses and ultimately support their deserving laborers and daily wagers to continue to earn their livelihoods he pointed out.

Ashraf further added that the efforts of Chamber included strenuous lobbying and advocacy with the Government Quarters to allow the exporters to open their factories with bare minimum laborers to execute their Export Orders at hand, duly complying with the Standard Operating Procedures of the Government of Punjab.

The SCCI President added that the Chamber had to face several challenges in its pursuit of opening factories, however, despite several assurances from the Government, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan came up with stringent demands which were impossible to provide by the Export Sector of Sialkot.

The President Chamber, highlighting the vision of Prime Minister, Imran Khan, to sustain the exports in the prevailing crisis and also to provide sustenance to the labor force, said that the Bureaucracy was trying to create hurdles in the resumption of economic activities and draconian demands from the TDAP was an evidence of the same negative attitude. He further shared that Sialkot Chamber, in coordination with the local Government secured a brief exemption for its 339 Members to lift the ready consignments and was successful in realizing USD 20M in Export Proceeds in two days.

The SCCI President draw the attention of the Prime Minister, the Minister of Industries, Special Advisor to PM on Commerce, Trade & Investment, said that the Export Sector of Sialkot had confirmed orders worth USD 410M at hand which would be lost due to the bureaucratic hurdles and irrational demands of TDAP.