The Regional Standing Committee on Gems & Jewellery, FPCCI, and Gold & Gems Art Promotion Council-Pakistan (GGAPC-Pakistan) in a joint meeting have urged the government to purge the Board of Directors (BOD) of Pakistan Gems & Jewellery Development Company (PGJDC) of political appointments.
Chairman Regional Standing Committee on Gems & Jewellery FPCCI, and Gold & Gems Art Promotion Council-Pakistan (GGAPC-Pakistan) Muhammad Ahmad told Business Recorder on Tuesday that the Ministry of Industries has appointed three women parliamentarians of the ruling PML (N) party as PGJDC BoD as a political bribe.
In this regard, a resolution was adopted unanimously in the meeting whereby it was stated that women parliamentarians did not have know-how about the gems and jewellery sector and how could they play their role in the promotion of this sector while they were busy in political affairs.
Ahmad said the PGJDC, since its inception to up-till now, could not perform significantly while the gems and jewellery industry of Pakistan is facing crisis owing to ever increasing prices of gold and weak national economy. He said that hundreds of people related to this sector had been rendering jobless while the PGJDC was unable to cope with the current situation.
Ahmed said that neighbouring country India was propping up its national economy by promoting its gems and jewellery sector. He said that national and local dailies had been raising voice against illogical decisions by the government in the past but to no avail. He demanded Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Federal Minister for Production Ghulam Murtaza Khan Jatoi and Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to purge the PGJDC of political appointments and include those persons related to gems & jewellery sector.