Withdrawal of increase in the prices of petroleum products is a step in right direction and would provide relief to the trade, industry and masses as well. Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani should ensure implementation of his decision regarding continuous gas supply to the Punjab industry.
The Pakistan Industrial and Traders Front (PIAF) Chairman Irfan Qaiser Sheikh and Lahore Township Industrial Association Chairman, Haroon Shafiq Chaudhry said the industry of Punjab is on the death bed due to 3-4 days gas load shedding in the Punjab. The gas suspension to the Punjab industry had put the jobs of thousands industrial workers on stake as the industrialists were facing difficulties in fulfilling the orders from their foreign buyers, they added.
They said that the exports were declining with every passing day only due to acute shortage of gas and this shortage could easily be bridged by taking all the provinces into the confidence. They said that had a policy to this regard been evolved a few years ago, the situation would have been quite encouraging today. The industry leaders urged the government to evolve a proper mechanism to fix the prices of petroleum products as repeated increases always give bad name to the government, they maintained.