The government needs to play a greater role to deal with stagnant industrial activities, increase in unemployment and unprecedented hike of prices of daily-use items. Pakistan Industrial and Traders Association Front (PIAF) Chairman, Sohail Lashari said this in a statement on Monday.
He urged the government to come up with a solution to address the ongoing economic issues that have now raised question mark over government's credibility. He said that acute energy crisis has crippled the industrial sector altogether and industrialists are left with no option but to close down their industrial units leaving thousands industrial workers jobless.
Lashari pointed out that Prime Minister had directed gas authorities to ensure five days a week gas supply to industry, which proved ineffective because of bureaucratic hurdles. He said that acute energy shortage is translating into swelled losses with every passing day. He urged the government to ensure at-least five-day a week gas supply to Punjab's industries, otherwise days are not far when these would become 'lost world'.
Expressing his views about the said the proposed 13 percent increase in petroleum prices, he said that it has created unrest in the already crisis-hit business community. He opined that the ministry of petroleum & Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) should avoid making increase in the petroleum prices. He feared that the increase on one hand would jack-up manufacturing cost of Pakistani merchandise while on the other, multiply miseries of the agriculture sector. The PIAF chief advised that instead of making 'bulk increase' in the petroleum prices, government should take measures for promotion of alternate fuels as trade deficit is fast widening due to heavy imports under the head of petroleum products. He urged the government to take appropriate measures for the wellbeing of industries for early revival of the economy.