Showing great concerns over the strike observed by the textile industry on Wednesday to protest against the imposition of taxes and other issues, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called upon the government to take urgent measures to address the problems of textile sector in order to save the economy from further troubles. 

 

Atif Ikram Sheikh, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that one day’s closure of textile units across the country has reportedly caused a loss of Rs.1.8 billion and deprived around 300,000 daily wagers from wages, which could have been easily avoided had the government taken some positive initiatives to address the genuine concerns of the businessmen of this important sector.  

 

He said that textile industry is the largest employer of workforce, contributes more than 50 percent to total exports and generates sufficient tax revenue for the national exchequer. He said it is imperative that the government should pay priority attention to this sector for remedial measures that will help in promoting exports, generating more forex reserves and improving the national economy.

 

He said that the wise approach to improve the foreign exchange reserves and strengthen the economy is to focus on improving exports instead of borrowing from external sources that entails heavy cost to the coming generations. He stressed that government should announce promised relief package for this industry to avoid closure of productive activities. 

 

Sheikh Pervez Ahmed Senior Vice President and Sheikh Abdul Waheed Vice President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that due to insufficient government support, energy crisis, delays in refunds and other factors, export oriented sector is facing many problem leading to decline in our exports in spite of grant of GSP by the European Union. They stressed that government should withdraw electricity surcharge, remove GIDC, grant zero rating to export oriented industry and address other concerns of textile industry. They said government should seriously consider extending more export incentives to this important sector of the economy that will help it to compete effectively with its competitors in the international market and achieve positive results for the economy.