The Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front (PIAF) has urged the government to stop increasing the gas tariff and Chairman Irfan Iqbal Sheikh and Vice Chairman Khawaja Shahzeb Akram have voiced concerns over the proposed increase by 18 to 20 percent right after the Eid holidays. In their joint statement both said that any increase in the gas prices would be a sheer injustice with the entire industrial sector already facing acute energy shortages.
Office-holders believed the increase in the tariff could add more woes to the Pakistani merchandise sector losing their due share in the international market and that instead controlling line loses and making arrangements to stop gas and electricity thefts the authorities are busy in making proposals to increase the prices of energy resources.
The association fears that several units could shut down in the next three months. Senior Vice Chairman Tanveer Ahmed Soofi said that this increase would adversely affect the manufacturing sector because it was under pressure of higher cost of doing business and its survival had become difficult. He said 20 to 30 percent of small and medium sized units had closed in the past six months because they could hardly put up with the surging cost of production. He also warned that more units would follow suit and announced that a joint strategy would be adopted to take up the anti-industry decisions with the government.
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