LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Saturday urged the government to control line losses, electricity theft, and inefficiency in recovery of dues and help stop political interference in energy sector that has reduced the country’s economic growth by 3-4 per cent in the last two years.

According to the LCCI President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said that the US report about the political interference in the energy sector is an eye-opener for all as it is not only the economy that has been facing a meltdown-like situation but the entire country is in grip of multiple challenges due to an acute energy shortage.

He said that there is no second opinion about it that an effective governance is critical to economic reforms but if the political interference continues to undermine the decision-making then how one can expect an economic turnaround in coming years. Sheikh said that the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been calling on the government since long for now for the introduction of much needed reforms in the energy sector but unfortunately all its appeals had fell on deaf ears with the result of huge cut in country’s economic growth.