Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front (PIAF) has urged the government to withdraw plans aimed at a massive increase in gas prices as it would be disastrous for major export earning sectors including textiles.
The PIAF office-bearers; Chairman Sohail Lashari, Senior Vice-Chairman Nadar Kamal Osman, Vice-Chairman Junaid Iqbal Sheikh and Chairman Lahore Township Industries Association (LTIA) Haroon Shafiq Chaudhry in their joint statement on Thursday said the government has no justification for making tariff hike recommendation in the wake of irritating energy crisis, bad law and order situation, high electricity rates and mark-up in double digits.
The industrial productions are already at its lowest ebb and any further increase in gas or electricity prices is bound to cause irreparable loss to the overall economy therefore it would be wiser to keep the decision pending, they added. They said that if the input cost for doing business in Pakistan would be higher than that of neighbouring countries, who would convince the foreign investors to put their money in any new venture in Pakistan. They said that acute power shortage had already pushed the industrial sector to the wall and a large number of industrial workers had lost their jobs, the government should avoid any anti-industry step.
The office-bearers out-rightly rejected the increase in gas tariff and said that it would be better if the gas companies control line losses, introduce efficiency in their system and control gas theft and urged the Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to look into the matter and stop Ogra from making any further increase in gas tariff.
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