KARACHI: PTI Member Provincial Assembly, President Karachi Division Khurram Sher Zaman and Member National Assembly Aftab Siddiqui have said that PTI government will not leave Karachi businessmen alone, and will request Prime Minister Imran Khan and Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin to resolve issues on a priority basis. They will also arrange a meeting of Yarn traders with PM Imran Khan so that they can inform them about their problems.
They expressed these views while addressing a meeting held at the office of Pakistan Yarn Merchants Association (PYMA) to discuss budget anomalies. PYMA Vice Chairman Farhan Ashrafi, Saqib Goodluck, SVP KCCI, Junaid-ur-Rehman Chairman KCCI Law & Order Sub-Committee, S M Alam, Chairman Old City Tajir Ittihad, PYMA members Khurshid Sheikh, Khurram Bharara, Saqib Naseem, Sohail Nisar, Noman Ilyas, Qadir Sheikhani, Anis Mandvia, Samad Gaba, Waheed Umar, Rizwan Diwan, Faisal Sheikhani, Nasir Makani, Sikandar Memon and others were also attended the meeting.
Farhan Ashrafi, Vice Chairman PYMA took Member Provincial Assembly Khurram Sher Zaman and Member National Assembly Aftab Siddiqui on a tour of the Old Area markets and apprised them of the muddy and muddy streets and street lights after the recent rains. Aftab Siddiqui on the occasion asked Farhan Ashrafi to identify the streets of the Old Area. Where they will repair roads with their own funds, they also announced the installation of street lights.
MNA Aftab Siddiqui while discussing the budget anomalies in detail in the meeting said that he was a member of the Finance Committee so he will inform the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister about the budget anomalies, and play his full role in resolving the problems of yarn traders.
MPA Khurram Sher Zaman, said that despite the announcement in the budget speech, the customs duty was not reduced at 9%, the Prime Minister’s vision is to make it easier to do business, but it seems that the Enamels Committee wants to thwart Prime Minister Imran Khan’s economic policies.
“Our hands and feet are tied because of the 18th amendment, but we have done and will continue to do a lot in Karachi”, he added. He also promised to beautify the historic buildings in the Old Area so that foreign buyers do not shy away from coming here.
Earlier, Farhan Ashrafi, Vice Chairman PYMA apprised the Member Provincial Assembly and Member National Assembly of the problems faced by Polyester, and pointed out that the promise of 9% customs duty on yarn was not fulfilled in the budget speech, while budget anomalies committee made decisions before convening a meeting with stakeholders, and the customs duty on yarn was maintained at 11% while 8B was not abolished.
He called for abolishing the anti-dumping duty of 3 to 13 per cent on tax rate gap between commercial & industrial importers to save the SME sector from collapse, as manufacturers have not increased their production capacity in 40 years and can barely meet 25 to 30% of local demand. Industries, on the other hand, depend on imports for the remaining 70%.
Farhan Ashrafi added that equalization of yarn and fabric duties would affect the SMEs sector and shut down industries. Therefore, the formula of 7% difference of cascading should be maintained.
PYMA Vice Chairman also rejected the decision of the Sindh government to raise the minimum wage to Rs25,000, and requested the Sindh government to announce a minimum wage of Rs 20,000 like the federal government.
