January 06, 2008	Sunday	Zilhaj 26, 1428

KARACHI, Jan 5: The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been approached by the caretaker Sindh government to seek details of the losses suffered by the business community during disturbances in the city last week.

The industries department has sent a pro forma to the KCCI, asking the chamber to give category-wise details of the losses.

The KCCI had estimated a loss of Rs80 billion owing to damage to property, plunder and looting of factories and godowns, torching of vehicles, etc., between Thursday and Sunday after the killing of PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi.

KCCI President Shamim Ahmed Shamsi told Dawn on Saturday that the secretary of industries, Rasul Bux Phulpoto, phoned him to request for submission of data about the losses suffered by the industry.

He said after the compilation of data on various categories, the industries minister may have a meeting with the KCCI officials.

The minister wanted to hold a meeting with the business community next week so that process of payment of compensation could be stared immediately, said Mr Shamim.

He, however, said he did not receive any phone call from the federal caretaker government and the related ministries.

No top bosses of the rangers and the police have, so far, contacted him. Similarly, no political party had contacted the chamber, he said.

The KCCI had sought removal of top bosses of rangers and the police for their failure to maintain law and order on three days after the killing of PPP chairperson.

The chamber had also warned on Jan 3 in a press conference that if top hierarchy of the law-enforcement agencies was not changed within a week, the KCCI would give a call for strike.

He said after the publication of advertisements by the chamber asking traders to give details of the losses, the chamber had been flooded with data of losses by various trade and business associations and individuals.

To a question whether the losses would cross Rs100 billion, he said it was premature to say at this moment, but these were being calculated rapidly.

FPCCI: Federal Minister of Inter-Provincial Coordination Dr Mohammed Amjad visited the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) to assess losses suffered by the industry.

He discussed matters relating to security arrangement and payment of compensation to industrialists during his meeting with vice presidents Zubair Tufail, Mohammed Farooq Dadabhoy and other leading industrialists.

The minister assured the businessmen that he would help arrange their meeting with the prime minister so that problems faced by them could be resolved.

An FPCCI press release said Zubair Tufail informed the minister that after Dec 27 tragedy, insurance companies had been searching for the loop-holes to skip from their responsibility, and clauses of terrorism and riots are being raised.

Haseeb Khan and Anwar Ahmed Tata proposed to the minister that the government should instruct banks to extend interest-free finance to the sufferers to re-start their factories, as it was an essential requirement to save jobs of thousands of workers.

Other participants of the meeting included Shahzar Shamoon, Provincial Secretary, Inter-Provincial Co-ordination, Masood Naqi, Mian Zahid Hussain, G R Arshad, Shakil Ahmed and Siddique Sulemen.