SIALKOT, Sept 24: The Punjab government has declared 47 private housing schemes — 33 in Sialkot and 14 in Sambrial tehsils — illegal. On the directions of the provincial government, the district government issued legal notices to the owners and developers of these schemes and sent cases to court.

According to the sources, the government had sought detailed report about these housing schemes from the district government.

Meanwhile, the administration has warned the people of these housing schemes and asked them not to invest there.

Hosiery body: Dr Khurram Tariq was elected chairman and Muhammad Rafi Soni vice-chairman of the Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association (North Zone), while Pervez Iqbal Soni, Sheikh Jouzy Javed and Moazzam Javed were elected its zonal committee members (Sialkot) on Saturday for the year 2005-2006.

Addressing the annual general meeting, outgoing chairman Adil Butt and senior founder member Chaudhry Mohammad Aslam greeted the new office-bearers and hoped that they would be able to overcome the problems and constraints being faced by the industry.

Talking to the press, chairman Dr.Khurram Tariq termed the knitwear industry as number one in the ranking of export products with more than $1.5 billion earning during last year. He said there were about 10,000 knitting machines all over the country and their utilization capacity was approximately 60 per cent.