KARACHI: Governor of Sindh Imran Ismail has assured the business community that he will arrange a meeting of their representatives with Prime Minister Imran Khan, advisor on finance and the chairman of the FBR to resolve the concerns of the business community regarding the FBR.

He also vowed to call Special Assistant to PM Zulfi Bukhari and EOBI DG to resolve problems. He assured the business community that federal government would not leave them alone, and it would provide them with all possible assistance to maintain the pace of industrial production and exports.

Addressing a meeting of Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI), he said that the government tried its best to explore more natural gas reservoirs but no breakthrough was achieved. "We have found alternative sources of energy for the industry," he noted.

He said that government policy to curb Covid-19 had been appreciated all over the world. President KATI Sheikh Umer Rehan said that industry was facing biggest problem of energy shortage and interruption in gas and electricity supply.

He also mentioned that expended jurisdiction of FBR regarding surveillance and vetting of records would drastically affect business growth in the country. "PM Khan should take immediate notice of this concern," he said. Chairman and CEO KITE Zubair Chhaya said that for development companies of industrial area, it was promised by the federal government that it would provide funds to the companies and the province would match the federal grant.

But since the inception of the companies the promise has never been fulfilled by the federal government. He urged the governor to raise this issue with the prime minister and his economic team. Khalid Tawab called for resolving the issue of Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC).

He also suggested to the governor to recommend President of KATI Sheikh Umer Rehan for Sitara-i-Imtiaz in recognition of his services to the business community.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020