FAISALABAD: Engineer Muhammad Saeed Sheikh, President Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI), has congratulated Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on his election as new Prime Minister of Pakistan.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, he said the victory of Abbasi has proved that he is not only popular among the masses but also enjoys the maximum support of the parliamentarians. He hoped that, during his tenure, Abbasi will fully concentrate on the economic issues so that the ultimate objectives of progress and prosperity of Pakistan could be achieved at the earliest.
He further hoped that the newly elected PM will give due importance to the textile sector that is earning precious foreign exchange for the country in addition to providing jobs to more than 38% workforce of Pakistan. He demanded the revival of the textile ministry which would reactivate a committed, dynamic and visionary minister who could steer this important sector out of the protracted crisis.
Engineer Muhammad Saeed Sheikh further said the continuous decline in textile export is only due to non-payment of refund claims of income tax and sales tax to the exporters which are lying pending for the last many years. He said approximately Rs300billion has thus been stuck up with the FBR and exporters are facing liquidity crunch. He said these refund claims are the right of the exporters.
President FCCI also mentioned Rs180billion Textile Package announced by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and said his government had issued notification for the release of Rs60billion under this package from January 01 to June 30, 2017. He said on the completion of this period the total amount has yet not been paid fully. He further said that new notification should also be issued to release the remaining amount under this package from July 01, 2017 to June 30, 2018.
