National development linked to home-based industry promotion

PESHAWAR: Speakers at a session called for supporting the small and home-based industry as that would lead to national development and economic stability of the country. They were speaking at the monthly session of the Shoora-e-Hamdard, arranged by the Hamdard Foundation Pakistan.

The topic was “Promotion of small and home-based industry and its role in the national development and economy”. A cultural expert and Shoora-e-Hamdard Speaker, Dr Salahuddin, presided over the function. The guest speaker was Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) Vice-President Haris Mufti.

He said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa enjoyed an edge as far as small and home-based industry is concerned. He said the people in KP had skills in embroidery and honeybee farming.

“Women can grow vegetables at homes. They can become self-sufficient economically if they pay attention to the home-based industry and get the SCCI backing. This productivity can play a role in national development and the economic stability of the country in the long run,” he pointed.

Haris Mufti said the SCCI was ready to support and supervise the home-based industry. “In fact, our Women Chapter – Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry – is already guiding the women in this sector,” he hastened to add.

The SCCI vice-president said it was an established fact that traders and industrialists had suffered a lot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in general and Peshawar in particular due to terrorism that plagued the region for a long time. He said the small industry should be given relief in taxes for the very reason.

“A people-friendly taxation policy should be introduced for the small industry. The electric fan manufacturing industry of Punjab in Gujrat and Gujranwala receives technical assistance from the government. There is no harm in applying the same to Peshawar,” he suggested while citing the example. The trade body representative said the importance of industrial zones cannot be denied in Peshawar and other parts of the KP, but poultry and sheep farming had special importance as far as home-based industry was concerned.

Other participants, Prof Dr Azam Khan, Farooq Ahmad Jan, Dr Iqbal Khalil, Ghazala Yousaf, Malik Liaqat Ali Tabassum, Jawad Ahmad, Zahir Shah, Anjum Nisar Siddiqui, Sameena Iffat, Masooma Bibi, Nasiruddin and Faheem Gul Awan expressed views on the subject as well. The speeches were followed by a question-answer session facilitated by the chair.