Dr Ejaz Gohar, Patron-in-Chief and Group Leader of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), said Pakistan’s textile sector can grab orders worth $5 billion in the coming days as Western clothing brands shift from Bangladesh.

Bangladesh faces massive political uncertainty after the departure of Sheikh Hasina days ago, following deadly unrests which engulfed the entire country.

However, “the window of opportunity is only two weeks; otherwise, the orders will be placed in India, Vietnam, or Cambodia,” said Gohar in a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

The former caretaker commerce minister pointed out that the current energy prices and tax structure in Pakistan is unviable for the export sector.

“We are not viable at these energy prices of 16 cents and with the current taxation rules for the export supply chain,” he said.

“The way forward for the government is to decrease energy prices to 9 cents, allow the domestic supply chain for exports under SRO 1125 immediately.”

The industrialist was of the view that these steps will enable the textile industry to grab these orders, which can create five million jobs and add $5 billion in export earnings for Pakistan.

Days ago, Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule ended as she fled more than a month of deadly protests and the military announced it would form an interim government.

Demonstrations began over the reintroduction of a quota scheme that reserved more than half of all government jobs for certain groups.

The protests escalated despite the scheme being scaled back by Bangladesh’s top court.

The total number of people killed since protests began in early July to at least 320, according to an AFP tally based on police, government officials and doctors at hospitals.

Last week, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus was sworn into office to lead an interim government, vowing to lead Bangladesh back to democracy.