THE state-owned Pakistan Steel Mills was founded 46 years ago. It was capable of producing five million tonnes of steel before the global financial crisis of 2008 following which it was badly affected and production reduced drastically.

In 2015, owing to the negligence of the past governments production was almost stopped. Now Prime Minister Imran Khan has stated that the revival of steel mills is a top priority of his government and that Russian and Chinese companies have shown an interest in reviving it.

The steel mills is causing a loss of Rs200 billion and its employees are not getting paid. The PTI government wanted to sell the land owned by steel mills to generate funds to pay provident funds and gratuities to its former employees. The Supreme Court has, however, barred the government from doing that and said that the land could not be sold because it belongs to the people of Pakistan.

I urge the government to take serious steps on this issue and try to revive this vital industry so that employees can be paid salaries and dues, while it will also be beneficial for Pakistan.

Muhammad Talha
Karachi

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2019