PPP’s Senator Taj Haider calls for restoration of gas supply to PSM

KARACHI: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) senior leader and Senate standing committee on industries and production chairman Senator Taj Haider has deplored that the federal government has rejected an appeal of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) for levying anti-dumping duty on steel and steel by-products of PSM.

He said the federal government’s tariff commission had also rejected this appeal and demand of the PSM.

In his statement issued Wednesday, Senator Haider said that the unemployment rate is soaring but the federal government has ignored this point of concern and has taken steps forward to shut the PSM and render thousands of workers as jobless, solely to please the importers’ consortium.

“In fact, this consortium of steel importers has become so powerful that the Twarki Steel Mills has been shut since past 2 years which was established with foreign investment to the tune of $1.2 billion,” he said.

He said that the decision taken by the cabinet’s committee on economic development was caused to fail by withholding necessary funds for the revival f the PSM but still the PSM workers had through untiring efforts took the PSM to the level of self-reliance by ensuring its production capacity up to 68 percent and thus the beacon was very high for the PSM to re-enter the lost phase of profit earning national institution.

At this moment, in straight violation to the decision of the committee on economic development, gas supply to the PSM was suspended and now more than the half of the total workforce has been marked for fast retrenchments.