Top industrial associations of Pakistan have urged Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), one of the largest integrated gas companies in Pakistan, engaged in the business of transmission and distribution of natural gas, to reverse its decision to cut the gas supply for the textile industry, to prevent the breakdown of the value-added sector, the Express Tribune reported.
At a joint press conference, representatives of Pakistan Textile Exporters Association, the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association, the All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association (APTPMA), the All Pakistan Bedsheets and Upholstery Manufacturers Association, the All Pakistan Textile Sizing Association and the Loom Owners Association, urged the Pakistan Government to refrain from taking measures that can badly cripple the trade and industrial activities in the country.
The Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) president Rizwan Ashraf said the decision was not in Pakistan’s national interest and will erode the industrial base of Pakistan. He said that the shortage of gas during winter is a regular phenomenon for the last many years and it was decided after hectic consultation and discussion that 25-33 per cent critical quota will be given to the textile sector during winter season.
Nadeem Allahwala, senior vice president of FCCI, said that gas curtailment for textile industry would affect production and industrial workforce retrenchment leading to unemployment and unrest.
APTPMA former regional chairman Shiekh Khalid Habib said that processing industry needs continuous gas supply to process the fabric as gas is the basic raw material in processing and suspension of gas would halt the processing process. He called upon the chief minister of Punjab to take necessary steps to solve the problem.
Khawaja Muhammad Amjad, former chairman of Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said the Pakistan Government needs new investment to improve infrastructure and economic revival and warned that stopping gas supply to industry would discourage prospective investors from considering Pakistan for investment.
The textile sector associations have planned a massive protest campaign and sit-ins from the 15th of November, 2014, if the proposed plan to suspend gas supply to industry in Punjab is not reversed soon. (GK)
