All federation VPs Khalid Tawab, Dawood Usman Kakhura, Fazle Elahi, Muhammad Tariq Shafi, Muhammad Usman Shakih, Ch Aamer Ata Bajwa and Muhammad Akbar Khan also fully endorsed federation chief on proposed increase in petroleum prices.

Vice President SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry, veteran trade leader Iftikhar Ali Malik said that the industry is already facing severe energy crisis, increase in electricity tariffs, and the raised prices of petroleum at this critical juncture would squeeze the liquidity.

He said that high tariff of power; gas and petroleum have created another severe liquidity crunch for the importers of industrial raw material.

He said that keeping in view the business scenario world over, the high rate of mark up by banks be reduced to single digit to provide solace to hard hit industries. He warned that the national economy will suffer further if immediate corrective measures are not taken to save the industries.

President LCCI, Shahzad Ali Malik said that increased fuel prices would further burden the industrial sector which was already facing high mark up rate, and serious energy crisis. "All these factors are increasing the cost of doing business", he stressed.