FAISALABAD, Jan 4: Federal Textile Minister Rana Farooq Saeed said on Sunday that the government would try to restore research and development facilities and reduce mark-up rates.

Talking to members of the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FCCI), exporters and industrialists, he said a meeting would be held on Tuesday in Islamabad to discuss loadshedding of gas and electricity.

The minister said some people had resorted to rioting in the city, instead of helping the government in solving the problems.

He said the government wanted to strengthen the textile sector because it would help reduce the country’s dependence on loan.

He criticised State Bank’s former governor Shamshad Akthar for increasing the mark-up. The minister said that the schedule of load management in future would be prepared in consultation with industrialists.

He said industrialists would be included in the boards of directors of electricity companies.

FCCI president Hamid Javed said industrialists wanted a level-playing field. He said the crisis of electricity and gas had increased manifold the cost of business.

He demanded a ban on functions at night to conserve energy and effective steps to maintain law and order. He said foreign buyers were not ready to visit the country because of lawlessness.