SIALKOT: Sialkot Chamber of Com­merce and Industry (SCCI) President Dr Sarfraz Bashir said on Tuesday that the prevailing political unrest and uncertainty had been hampering pace of industrial, business and export activities in Sialkot city.

Talking to the newsmen, the SCCI president said that the political crisis has also been resulting in worries among foreign buyers who were showing dismay over the prevailing political unrest.

He expressed fears that foreign customers may divert their import orders from Sialkot-Pakistan to other countries to avert their business loss because of political unrest in Pakistan.

Dr Sarfraz Bashir said that the political unrest was also causing inordinate delays in shipments from different dry ports across Pakistan , as containers carrying import and export consignments worth millions of rupees were being caught and placed on roads by local administration in various parts of Punjab for roads blockades.

He said due to this alarming situation, Sialkot exporters were unable to ensure timely dispatch of their export consignments to different foreign destinations and this situation has also worried their foreign buyers.

He said that the prevailing political unrest was promoting the bad image of Pakistan globally, besides leaving bad impact on national economy. The foreign investors and foreign customers, he said, were reluctant to visit Pakistan or do any more business with Pakistan.

He urged the government and protesting parties to find a peaceful and amicable solution to the persisting crisis through talks and not through protests to save the country from great financial loss, besides paving way for political and economical stability in the country which was vital to boost economy.

Published in Dawn, Aug 13th, 2014