Appointment of textile minister urged

LAHORE: The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) has urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to appoint a federal minister to oversee the Ministry of Textile Industry, a statement said on Wednesday.
Opposing the move to merge the Ministry of Textile Industry with the Ministry of Commerce, Aptma Chairman S M Tanveer said the merger will be counterproductive, as the Textile Ministry was formed to facilitate and resolve the issues of the textile industry.
The industry is in dire need of a separate ministry - the mainstay of the economy, as it is passing through a turbulent phase and textile mills are closing their operations due to various reasons concerning energy insecurity, un-affordability and high cost of business.
Textile exports have seriously declined thus leading to reduced production which has resulted in rampant unemployment and impairment of agricultural linkages causing adverse affect on the cotton economy, he said.
Tanveer highlighted that a new five year textile policy 2014-2019 was announced but its recommendations have not even been pursued due to the absence of a federal minister while one and a half year of the policy duration has already elapsed.
No new investments have taken place while various investment decisions are still pending that has caused a loss of opportunities with regard to creation of jobs, increasing exports and utilisation of GSP+ market access.