Daily Times

LAHORE: Senate’s Standing Committee on Finance Chairman Saleem Mandviwala has announced to convene a meeting to address the issues facing textile industry.

Addressing a press conference at the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Punjab office on Friday, the chairman said representatives of the government and the APTMA would be invited to discuss the prevailing situation.

APTMA Advisory Council Chairman Gohar Ejaz briefed the senator on the issues facing the industry.

Mandviwala said all the issues of textile industry were genuine and the government would immediately form a committee or a task force to resolve them in order to save textile mills from closure, as it would put Pakistan into mess, besides giving rise to unemployment. “They are not being paid their sales tax refunds and facing the imposition of regulatory duty and bank issues,” he pointed out. “It is a sorry state of affairs that the opposition is being engaged to get industry issues resolved.”

He said he was totally disappointed over the hostile attitude towards textile industry. “I am highly depressed after listening to the sad state of affairs of the textile industry,” he added.

The country ultimately suffers whenever the industrial activity is down, he said, adding that Pakistan could be declared bankrupt if no economic emergency was declared forthwith, as millions of textile workers were unemployed. He said the textile millers were not responsible for the situation. Instead, the government was responsible for it, as the industry had been pushed to the point that it was unable to perform.

He said Pakistan had already entered into a crisis like situation. “We are entering into a dangerous zone, as the possibility of increase in exports is impossible without revival of the industry. Responding to a query, he said he had no issue with supply of gas to Punjab-based textile industry on weighted average. “We can look into it but the federal government has never taken it up with us,” he stressed.

He said the government was least bothered, and instead it was carrying a hostile attitude towards industry. He added that the 18th amendment could also be reviewed to resolve textile industry issues.

Published in Daily Times, October 28^th 2017.