Meanwhile, Industrialists and workers staged protest demonstration against Federal government.
Commenting over the prevailing situation, Mian Zahid Aslam, President Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) said that energy crisis, lack of good governance, deteriorating law and order situation were the major factors hampering mobilisation of domestic investment and to keep the foreign investors away from the country. He emphasised that increased risk factors about investing into Pakistan were hurting the entire economy and needed to be tacked through a methodical and visionary policy approach by involving all the stakeholders in the policy consultative process.
FCCI president said that business and investment-friendly environments are the top mobilising forces to speed up money circulation in order to gear up business, trade and industrial activities in the country. Resultantly, it would jack up the GDP and economic growth which is lowest in the region. He also stressed that national economy needed to be de-regulated. To run the businesses is not government job. Government should encourage private sector through public-private partnership, he added. He quoted that many institutions once in government control when privatised were profitable.
He said that looking towards multi-laterals is a timely support and, therefore urged the government to realise the gravity of the situation and all stakeholders should be taken into confidence to identify ways and means to solve energy crisis and to mobilise domestic investment as the real solution to the ailing economic growth of the country.
In a joint meeting at PTEA, the leaders of Textile Associations said that despite tall claims of political leadership and assurances of authorities concerned gas supply to industrial sector of Faisalabad region could not be restored on the ninth consecutive day adding to miseries of daily wagers and industrialist.
They pointed out that industries of Faisalabad sector are without gas as the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) announced load shedding for industrial sector for indefinite period on December 08.
Textile Processors and Exporters have complained that they are finding it difficult to meet their export orders as a result of suspension of gas supply that is incurring huge losses, while the country is also losing much-needed foreign exchange. They added that industries were already running on 30 percent of their installed capacity due to six hours loadshedding of electricity and the suspension of gas supply for the last one-week has rendered the industrial wheel to a complete halt.