Central Chairman APTMA Ahsan Bashir, Chairman APTMA Punjab Shahzad Ali Khan, Group Leader APTMA Gohar Ejaz and top notches of sectoral associations from Faisalabad were present on the occasion. The federal minister was quite confused and avoided to make a direct commitment on energy restoration and kept on mincing words until the textile leadership threatened of taking control of Wapda grids in Punjab.
The minister was earlier adamant to make no commitment until a meeting between the ministry and APTMA representatives on Monday. APTMA Group Leader Gohar Ejaz termed the electricity supply suspension to textile mills in Punjab as anti-Punjab approach on the part of Ministry of Water and Power.
The minister said it was for the first time that he was under pressure and stated categorically that the issue would be resolved by Monday. Later talking to reporters, Chaudhry Mukhtar said short supply of furnace oil was behind below capacity production of electricity, adding that enough shipments were set to reach Karachi port and soon power production would come to the optimum level. He said it was not the President but the Prime Minister who asked to look into the power crisis in Punjab.
He also blamed certain political quarters vying for benefiting from the power crisis in Punjab and advised the textile millers to avoid politicising the issue. He also advised APTMA to stop issuing deadlines, and said he could not be threatened by issuing deadlines and suggested the textile millers to contest elections to solve their problems.
He said there was ample opportunity for educated people to come into Parliament, as uneducated parliamentarians could not resolve the problems, and also advised textile millers to invest in coal and windmill generation, as there was sure short payback guarantee in those investments. Chaudhry Mukhtar also lambasted at the bureaucracy for corrupting the system and said it was his mission to take them to the task, adding he would never let the industry down.
He also said he was not interested in taking the charge of Ministry of Water and Power but he took it finally as a challenge. However, the minister avoided to answer as why the Dar-us-Salam Textile Mill was being supplied with gas without interruption. It is believed that the concerned mill is owned by his family. Earlier, the APTMA leadership made sentimental speeches to highlight the gloomy picture of textile industry in Punjab. The textile workers in Faisalabad and Multan also held protests against power breakdown.