Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday he said the textile industry should be given preferential treatment by providing the manufacturing units an uninterrupted power supply to let the sector operate to its full potential. He said that the textile was capital and labour intensive industry and with about 3.5 million employees it should receive preferential treatment.
“We do realise the reasons behind the power shortages, but at the same time being an export-oriented sector, the textiles should get special treatment,” he suggested.
Textile industry, he maintained, needed the federal government’s attention, especially after the government had decided to extend the Most Favoured Nation’s status to India.
He said an Aptma delegation would soon hold a meeting with the commerce secretary in Islamabad to apprise him about the textile industry’s concerns viz-a-viz MFN status to India.
The government must protect the commercial interest of the textile industry for its being the engine of growth driving the national economy.
He suggested that the government should put the synthetic clothes on the negative list, barring its import from India even after it was declared an MFN.
Mr Aziz said that the balance of trade between the two countries was tilted in India’s favour. The trade figures between the two countries showed India was exporting more to Pakistan than what it was importing.
The trade figures showed a difference of some $450 million because India is exporting a lot of items via Dubai to Pakistan.
Meanwhile, opposing the introduction of one per cent cess on textile products he termed it as counter productive to the industry’s growth. He said Aptma was also against the introduction of a system of checks and controls as proposed by the new act.
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