SIALKOT, Oct 25: Various trade bodies and associations have expressed concern over 60 per cent decline in exports in the district amid global unrest.

In a seminar held at the local Press Club on Wednesday evening, Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) president Daud Ahmad Chattha said the country’s economy especially exports had hit rock-bottom following the Sept 11 event.

He said foreign customers had cancelled 60 per cent of their import orders they had placed with Sialkot.

Export target from the district was $650 for the current fiscal year but it would not exceed $250 keeping in view economic crunch, he added.

The SCCI chief urged the electronic and print media to play a pivotal role in combating propaganda against Pakistan on a global scale.

Pakistan Sports Good Association chairman Shaikh Arif Mahmood urged the CBR to release payments on duty draw back and rebate claims of Sialkot business community from June 30, 2001 to pull it out of the quagmire.