KARACHI: Faisal Moiz Khan, President North Karachi Association of Trade & Industry (NKATI) has threatened to shut down all the factories and hand over the keys to Prime Minister Imran Khan if the industrial gas was not restored in the next 48 hours.

Expressing deep concern over the sudden disconnection of gas connections of factories located in North Karachi industrial area by Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), he said that the closure of industries will lead to a flood of unemployment and the entire responsibility will fall on SSGC, while it will also have a very negative impact on the overall economy of the country.

Faisal Moiz Khan appealed to Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Chairman PPP and Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to take notice of the matter and play their role in restoring gas supply to industries as per demand.

“Despite the 18th amendment, Sindh is not getting its due right from the gas produced in Sindh while the first right over Sindh’s natural resources belongs to Sindh province”, he added. Deprivation of rights will make matters worse”.

NKATI president raised the question that SSGC is going to lock every factory, which is wrong.

If industries are shut down on the basis of just one notice, how will the economy function? How will industries survive? Shutting down gas supply is wasting raw materials at the plant, while shutting down production could lead to a shortage of products in local markets.

He further said that with the cessation of production of products, imports would have to be relied upon to meet the demand in the local markets, which was against the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Faisal Moiz Khan demanded immediate restoration of gas supply to North Karachi’s industries or else the industrialists would be forced to lock down their factories and a large number of workers could be laid off.

Therefore, the government should take steps in the best economic interest of the country and issue directives the utility service providers to make sure uninterrupted services so that the wheel of the economy can run smoothly and create more employment opportunities.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021