American Business Forum (ABF) President Salim Ghauri has expressed deep sorrow and grief over tragic infernos in Karachi and Lahore, leaving over 250 as dead, and called upon the government to take action at the national level to protect workers' health and safety across the country.
He said this horrific incident might also lead to restrictions on Pakistani exports from the international buyers for absence of safety measures at the workplace, as protection of workers' health and safety was a fundamental right world over. Salim has stressed for short and medium term measures by the government to revamp the Labour Department at the provincial levels with the help of International Labour Organisations for capacity building and improvement in efficiency of labour inspection.
He has also urged the media to play a proactive role in promoting safety measures in public and private concerns and special surveys and investigative reports should be a permanent feature of TV channels to promote safety and health of workers. Meanwhile, ABF President has also welcomed the resolution passed by the National Assembly, calling upon the provincial governments to immediately form judicial commissions with tasks like probing incidents' causes and fixing responsibility.