• Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and senior officials attended the meeting.
• The meeting aimed at taking important decisions regarding the solar and green energy generation projects.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday chaired the meeting of energy task force to find ways and solutions to address the problems related to power generation.

The meeting aimed at taking important decisions regarding the solar and green energy generation projects.

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and senior officials attended the meeting.

Meanwhile, All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) Chairman Abdul Rahim Nasir has urged the federal government to restore gas supply to the textile industry on an urgent basis, stressing that a loss of almost $1 billion in exports had already taken place due to unavailability of gas and closure of more than 300 textile mills.

Read more: Aptma urges govt to restore gas supply to textile industry

Addressing a press conference at the Aptma House, Lahore along with Aptma North Zone Chairman Hamid Zaman, Senior Vice Chairman Kamran Arshad and Secretary General Raza Baqir, Nasir said that 26 per cent upsurge in the textiles export during the fiscal year 2021/22 was made possible only due to the supply of energy at a regionally competitive tariff.

The textile industry showed exemplary performance of boosting the textile exports from $12.5 billion in 2020 to almost $20 billion in 2022, registering a 60 per cent increase in exports.

The exponential growth in the textile sector has attracted investment of over $5 billion and the establishment of 100 new textile units, which, after becoming operational, would result in fetching additional export of more than $500 million/month or $6 billion/annum, he said, adding that the gas supply to industry has been suspended since June 30, 2022, which has almost halted production in the entire value-added textile industry, causing a colossal loss to the economy.

The large-scale closure of mills has resulted in massive layoffs and unemployment, spreading economic chaos, he said, adding that it is inexplicable that the exporting sector, which was committed to boost the textile exports to $25 billion during 2022/23 and over $2 billion/month, is being denied electricity and gas.