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Islamabad: Traders of Islamabad on Tuesday rejected decisions taken in the second National Energy Conference and threatened to launch civil disobedience movement if the proposed steps were imposed.
The decisions are political, unilateral and contrary to the ground realities while stakeholders were not taken into confidence, said Malik Sohail, VP National Traders Alliance.
Speaking at a hurriedly called meeting in the Blue Area, he said that we will not accept the outcome of the controversial conference which amount to economic murder of the reeling trading community.
Malik Sagheer Ahmed Chairman Blue Area Business Community, Syed Amin Pirzada, Liaquat Noon, Haji Naeem, Syed Nadeem Mansoor, Shakeel Aziz, Yousuf Rajpoot, Raja Hasan Akthar, Hameed Abbasi and Ishtaq Qureshi, Imran Abbasi, Zahid Qureshi, Imran Bukhari and others were also present on the occasion.
Malik Sohail said that it needs more that flowery speech, tall claims, poetry and infamous decisions to resolve energy crisis which has emerged as biggest threat to the country.
He said that how can traders close shops at 8pm when people come out of homes for shopping after dusk.
Many chambers and associations were not invited, those who are invited were not allowed to talk while some walked out in protest, he said adding that the outcome of this conference will be no different than the former one.
Malik Sohail who is also Chairman Media FPCCI and former SVP ICCI said that resolution of crisis lies in building reservoirs and utilising Thar coal. However it is amazing that rulers preferred rental power projects to drain national exchequer.
A doctor has inflicted more damage to economy than so called war on terror and insurgency, he noted.
His policies have resulted in nine per cent reduction in the POL usage which indicates that country is heading towards total disaster, the business leader informed.
Malik Sohail Hussain said that government always claim to prefer trade over aid but it has always been conspiring against trading community.
Other who spoke on the occasion said that Supreme Court has recovered Rs 8 billion of money looted by rulers in the name of rental power which is in fact tip of the iceberg.
There is no petroleum policy in country; concerned ministry is only interested in plunder and disheartening investors. There is no exploration, no block has been auctioned in the last four years and no efforts have been initiated to attract investors, they said.
The speakers said that energy conference is nothing but a jugglery of words and an attempt to throw sand in the eyes of dejected masses.
For more information, contact:
Malik Sohail Hussain
Chairman FPCCI Standing
Committee on Media and PR
Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI)
Tel: +9251 2251 891-3
Fax: +9251 2251 894
Cell: +92333 5155300; +92321 5155500
Email: malick.sohail@yahoo.com