KARACHI: The Business community on Monday appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan to restore gas supply to all industrial zones of Karachi as the utility is suspended for the last 100 days.
Businessmen Group (BMG) chairman Zubair Motiwala, BMG vice chairman and Pakistan Apparel Forum chairman Jawed Bilwani and Karachi Chamber president Muhammad Idrees at a press conference stressed that the government should ensure timely supply of gas to the city.
The federal government must save its repute by putting an end to the discriminatory treatment being suffered by this city since long which has not only aggravated miseries for the business community and the Karachiites but has also dented the government’s efforts to ensure ease of doing business, they said.
The business leaders urged that in order to revive the industrial activities, Sindh’s gas had to be returned to the province as it was highly unfair to keep the industries of Karachi deprived of Sindh’s own gas resources.
They said that the industries of Karachi were deeply shocked and totally disappointed with the government for neglecting and ignoring the repeated appeals and press releases over looming gas and regasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) crises and remaining indecisive in the burning matter for the last more than 100 days.
BMG general secretary AQ Khalil, senior vice president Abdul Rehman Naqi, vice president Qazi Zahid Hussain along with Site Association of Industry (SAI) president Abdul Rasheed, Federal B. Area of Trade & Industry president Haroon Shamsi, Korangi Association of Trade & Industry (Kati) president Salman Aslam attended the press conference.
Landhi Association of Trade & Industry representative Ajmal Afzal, North Karachi Association of Trade & Industry (Nkati) president Faisal Moiz, Bin Qasim Association of Trade & Industry president Elahi Buksh and Site Superhighway Association of Industry president Aamir Hassan Lari also attended the presser.
It also included Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PHMA) zonal chairman Abdul Rehman, Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PRGMEA) chairman Sheikh Shafiq Jhok Wala, Pakistan Knitwear & Sweaters Manufacturers & Exporters Association chairman Kamran Chandna, Pakistan Cotton Fashion Apparel Manufacturers & Exporters Association chairman Aitazaz Ahmed Japanwala.
Towel Manufacturers Association Chairman Kashif Mehtab Chawla, Pakistan Bedwear Exporters Association Chairman Asif Javed and Pakistan Denim Manufacturer & Exporters Association chairman Asif Riaz Tata also participated.
BMG chairman Zubair Motiwala said that the government’s promises and commitments to assure supply of gas to export industries appear to be an eyewash and a mere lip-service.
It was highly unfair to deprive Karachi from gas and RLNG as this city, being the textile and industrial hub of Pakistan, alone contributes 68 per cent revenue to the national exchequer and 54 per cent to national exports while 52 per cent of textile exports also take place from Karachi.
“Yet this matchless contribution is not being taken into consideration and Karachi continues to undergo discrimination that has led to causing severe production losses of more than 66 per cent due to reduced or no supply of gas,” he said.
“The inequitable conduct and discriminatory treatment with Karachi were totally unconstitutional hence intolerable and highly deplorable”, he said while fearing that the discriminatory actions and policy towards Karachi will not only cause the industry to cripple but would also tarnish the vision of the Prime Minister.
BMG chairman further stated that the rising demand for gas in Balochistan during winter season was being fulfilled by Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) alone which receives 125mmcfd gas from Sui, whereas Sui Northern Gas Pipeline (SNGPL), which takes away 180mmcfd from Sui, stands completely spared from sharing the burden of rising gas demand in Balochistan which was beyond anyone’s understanding.
“We firmly believe that the rising demand for gas in Balochistan has to be meted out by SSGCL and SNGPL as per ratio of gas being received by them, which means that the extra demand of 160mmcfd in Balochistan during winter should be rationally divided with 41 per cent (65mmcfd) burden on SSGCL and the remaining 59 per cent (95mmcfd) must be borne by SNGPL.”
Motiwala stressed that a quantum of 211mmcfd gas, which was erroneously allocated to SNGPL in the past and the same has also been recognised by the special assistant to Prime Minister on Gas and director general Gas, needs to be immediately returned to SSGCL.
“Last year, the industry of Karachi entered into an agreement with the Ministry of Energy and Ministry Commerce to purchase extra quantum of gas at higher price for a period of five months to match the demand. However, we were denied the same this year due to lack of planning,” he added.
Pakistan Apparel Forum chairman Jawed Bilwani mentioned that the Prime Minister’s excellent policy pertaining to Long Term Financing Facility (LTFF), encouraged industrialists to invest more than $3 billion on purchase of machineries and equipment, which was likely to promote industrialisation but this policy will be wasted due to unavailability and unjustified distribution of gas.
The value-added textile export industries were saddened over such unwelcoming acts and behaviour of the federal government. Surprisingly, the government is well aware that the downfall in exports will also result in downward revision in the national revenue, and will also negatively impact the foreign exchange coming to Pakistan where the national exports will ultimately face sharp decline, Bilwani said.
He said that repeated appeals in the print media without any response from the government has also tarnished the soft and positive image of Pakistan in the eyes of the international community around the globe.
It has also raised several questions in the diplomatic missions of friendly countries in Pakistan whereby the ambassadors and diplomats in Islamabad and Karachi have been continuously observing the situation and they may send their adviseries to the buyers of their countries which may result in disruption or discontinuation of existing and new export orders.
KCCI president Muhammad Idrees opined that instead of pursuing the pick and choose strategy, gas has to be supplied without any differentiation to all the industries including General, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and export-oriented industries as they all go hand-in-hand.
The government has to realise that the general industries were an integral part of the value chain for exports which drive the economy, he added.
Idress was of the view that neglect and disregard of repeated appeals of the industries of Karachi has also depicted a dark picture of Pakistan in the eyes of international community as the government, which claims to be business and export friendly, has thus far not yet showed any concern towards the industrial slowdown and shattered export production in Karachi.
BMG and KCCI leadership along with presidents of all other trade associations informed that the industries of Karachi were also being victimised and denied of other alternate fuels like Furnace Oil as the department of explosives, petroleum division was also not granting the required licence to export industries which they applied for around two months ago.
They said that empty containers and vessels to dispatch export shipments to various destinations worldwide were also not easily available due to ill-planning of the government as the empty containers have been exported, reportedly, throughout last year, in huge quantities and mother vessels were also not coming to Pakistan.
They blasted the government on such negligence, saying that the government was highly deplorable and the valuable struggle and hard efforts of exporters, encompassing over decades, to enhance exports will end in smokes and their new investments for further industrialisation will be sabotaged.
The Industrialists also deplored the misleading contents of appeal of Aptma North Zone published on January 29, wherein the Spinners’ Association has attempted to misinform the government mentioning that the industries in Sindh were getting required pressure to operate in contravention to the appeals given by Aptma South Zone.
Zubair Motiwala, Jawed Bilwani, Muhammad Idrees and all presidents of trade associations appealed Prime Minister Imran Khan to take immediate cognisance of the situation and urgently respond to the constitutional right of the business community of Karachi to save the investment of industrialists and protect the soft and positive image of Pakistan globally.
