LAHORE - Business community has asked the leading opposition parties to constitute a ‘Shadow Investigation Commission’ to pinpoint the real root cause of petrol crisis which had hit hard both the common consumers and the industrial sector.
They said present rulers have proved to be the most inefficient rulers of Pakistan’s history who, despite making tall claims of having the most talented team, had failed to overcome the energy or gas shortages in the country. They had come in to power with the promises of resolving the electricity shortage in six months but till date failed miserably to curtail the loadshedding rather had pushed the nation more in to darkness. They have failed to overcome the natural gas crisis and CNG industry which had been put up in the country with investment of billions of rupees had no more future. The much trumpeted and awaited LNG import is also not in sight in near future and coupled with these, petrol shortage had multiplied the worries of the masses.
Progressive Group’s President Khalid Usman and Secretary Information Muhammad Ejaz Tanveer, in a statement issued on Wednesday, urged the JI chief to invite PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf chairman Imran Khan to join this proposed commission to expose the politicians, bureaucrats and any other elements behind the petrol crisis.
“People even in Lahore are cursing the present rulers, which once was considered as the fortress of ruling party just because of the ineptness of these rulers rather their ability to create new crisis,” Progressive Group leaders alleged.
PHMA former chairman Sardar Usman Ghani said Punjab, the biggest hub of trade and economic activities, is the worst affected of this shortage which would ultimately hit the national economy. He said that businesses had suffered loss of billions of rupees because transportation of their finished goods or raw material came to a standstill.
LCCI former SVP Kashif Anwar said that the shadow commission should investigate whether this shortage is because of the circular debt of Pakistan State Oil as being quoted or there were some hidden hands. Those elements should be exposed and report with recommendations of actions be submitted to the government for prompt action. The report should also be made public through media and other channels so as to exert pressure on the rulers to take action against the real culprits instead of brushing the dust under carpet through removing some bureaucrats merely. PRGMEA central chairman Ijaz Khokhar said that the GSP Plus facility does not seem to reap the expected growth rate of increasing textile exports to $14 billion, particularly due to unavailability of gas and electricity to the textile industries. He said that the overall exports growth in the first quarter after GSP Plus status remained at two to three percent as compared to estimated seven to eight percent.
But, he lamented that in the case of textile sector, the overall growth in the first quarter remained in negative zone, as the Punjab-based textile industry was on the verge of collapse because of unavailability of gas and electricity.