All Pakistan Power Looms Association (APPLA) has threatened to launch a countrywide protest against the recent increase in the power tariff. They said that at least 25 percent concession be granted to power loom industry which is playing a vital role in textile exports.
Addressing an emergency meeting here on Monday President Haji Nazir Ahmed and Secretary General Khaliq Qandeel Ansari, Senior Vice President Asif Arshraf Sethi, and Vice President Haji Ashfaq Ahmed said that there were at least one million power looms in the country.
Most of them established in Faisalabad, Hyderabad and Multan. He said that Power loom owners were facing severe setback due to increasing the cost of production and they are unable to compete the other countries like Sri-Lanka, Bangladesh, India and China in world market.
He said that more 50 percent power looms had so far been closed and remaining would be shut if relief was not given to them and more than 1.5 million people would render jobless.