June 09, 2008	Monday	Jamadi-us-Sani 04, 1429

GUJRANWALA, June 8: Three people were killed and four injured when a scrap bomb exploded in a house in Shaheenabad on GT Road on Sunday.

Waheed Ahmad was scratching a scrap bomb in his house when it went off. As a result, Ahmad, his tenant Razia and her minor son Waqas died at the scene. Four other people of her family were injured critically, who were later taken to a hospital. The house was also badly damaged in the explosion.

Raw materials: The All Pakistan Brass Sanitary Fittings Association has asked the federal government to ban the export of raw materials immediately.

Speaking at a press conference here on Sunday, the association’s president Yasin Butt said the export of raw materials could result in closure of local industrial units and unemployment of hundreds of workers. He said the export of copper, aluminum and stainless steel raw materials should be banned.

He said the association had sought ban on the export of these materials a year ago, but instead of banning the export, the government imposed 25 per cent regulatory duty on the export of metals in the form of scrap.

Butt alleged that several influential industrialists and exporters exported thousands of tons raw materials in connivance with customs officials without paying regulatory duty last year. As a result, sanitary fittings, fan and washing machine industries faced shortage of raw materials.