WEB DESK
The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has decided to shut down textile mills across the country.
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“The textile mills of the country will be shut down. 1,600 textile mills have already been closed down,” the APTMA said. “Five million employees will lose their jobs and 30 million people will be affected due to the closure of textile industries,” it added.
“The government has withdrawn competitive power rates for the textile industry.” “The closure of the textile industry will deal a heavy blow to domestic exports,” it stated.
“Increasing exports is very important and the only way out for the economy of the country. The government must provide electricity and gas at competitive rates to the textile industry. It should also ensure continuous power and gas supply to the textile industry,” it demanded.
A delegation of APTMA, led by the Patron-in-Chief Dr. Gohar Ejaz and senior members Fawad Mukhtar and Anwaar Ghani, has left for Tanzania to source cotton for Pakistan to fulfil future requirements of cotton in the wake of the destruction caused by the flood in the cotton-growing areas.
Pakistan has been hit by the worst floods in its history, affecting 33 million people and incurring an estimated cost of more than $10 billion in infrastructural damage. According to the latest reports, economic losses and damage caused by the flash floods could range from $15 billion to $20 billion, as the government fears up to 12 million more people will slip into poverty.
On the other hand, the foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan have declined by $173 million to $13.59 billion, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said. The foreign exchange reserves of the country were at $13.762 billion.
