April 9, 2003	Wednesday	Safar 6, 1424

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GUJRANWALA, April 8: The local chamber of commerce and industry and manufacturers of export items have protested against the suspension of gas supply to industrial units following destruction of pipelines in Sadiqabad, and demanded that the supply of gas should be restored immediately.

At a meeting presided over by the chamber president Khawaja Tahir Hassan here, they said that orders would be cancelled if export items were not manufactured in time, and hundreds of labourers rendered jobless due to the consequent closure of industrial units.

Deploring the government’s failure to protect gas pipelines, they demanded that strict action should be taken against the saboteurs, who were enemies of the nation.

They lamented that the SNGPL had suspended the supply of gas to industrial units without notice.

FAISALABAD: The All-Pakistan Cloth Exporters Association, Khurrianwala Industrial Estate Association and the Faisalabad Export Processing Zone have expressed their anguish over the disruption of gas supply.

In a press statement here on Tuesday, the chairman of APCEA and KIEA, Khurram Iftikhar, said that anti-state elements were bent upon sabotaging the industrial activities, creating unemployment and harassing people.

He pointed out that in the modern age of communications, such acts of sabotage became known in the international market immediately and made the foreign buyers hesitant about placing orders with Pakistani manufacturers.

He said such acts of terrorism were being carried at a time when the economy was showing signs of progress, and were aimed at reversing the trend.

He demanded of the President Gen Pervez Musharraf to immediately intervene in the matter to ensure a secure environment for the industry in this crucial take-off stage of the economy.