The vice chairman of Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PHMEA), North Zone, Faisal Mehboob, has urged the government to take immediate steps for clearance of duty drawback claims of garments and sportswear industry, amounting to Rs 22 billion, blocked since long.
The business community engaged in garments and sportswear industry is facing serious financial constraints due to the blockage of duty drawback claims, he said. The PHMEA vice chairman further said that due to the unscheduled electricity and gas load shedding, scores of textile and hosiery knitwear industrial units have been closed or shifted to South Africa and Bangladesh. Almost all industries are suffering adversely and overall productivity in this export-oriented city and hub of cottage industry of the country due to prolonged and unscheduled load shedding of electricity and non-availability of gas, he said.
Faisal said that the ratio of unemployment was increasing rapidly in this export nucleus because most of the industrial workers worked on daily wages and due to non-availability of electricity they are unable to earn, as a result of which the social problems and crime ratio are on the increase. There is a great need of improvement of law and order situation for ensuring safety of life and property of the citizens, he said. Vice Chairman PHMEA urged the government to take drastic steps for overcoming the deteriorating electricity situation as well as to keep the production wheel in full motion, says a media release.