Terror war dents NWFP industry; 1,660 units closed

ISLAMABAD - The ongoing war against terrorists has not only claimed thousands of innocent lives but have also rendered thousands of people jobless, especially in NWFP where three-fourths of industrial units have succumbed to adverse circumstances, TheNation reliably learnt on Monday.
According to details, so far 1,660 out of 2,254 industrial units in the province have been closed down and resultantly thousand of people have become jobless.
According to sources, businessmen are shifting their businesses to the Federal Capital or to the Punjab province, as the conditions are not suitable for business in the NWFP. On the other hand, most of the businessmen have closed their industries, as they believe it is impossible to run the business activities in the province in the wake of terrorism.
The industries including textile, plastic, marble, cosmetic and pharmaceutical have not been operating in the province for the last few years and thus affecting the overall exports of the country. Due to the closure of industrial units, unemployment in the province is on the increasing side, sources informed. When contacted, Vice President Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Zulfiqar Ali Khan, told TheNation, Yes around 1,660 industrial units have been closed so far due to ongoing war against terrorism in NWFP. There were around 2,254 industries in the province before the said war but now their number is 594, he added.
He said, The remaining 594 industries are also working less than their capacity as power crises including electricity and gas loadshedding had affected the working capacity. Industries are still facing power loadshedding of around five hours a day and due to the said reason units are being closed at 06:00 p.m. every day, he added.
Due to closure of industries in the NWFP in the wake of war on terror, the number of labourers working in the industries has also been reduced to 40,000 from 84,000, Zulfiqar Ali informed. Despite restoration of peace in Malakand, industries are still not operating in the area as infrastructure is badly destroyed in the war, he said and added that Government should announce relief package for the businessmen of the province. He further told that Federal Government had announced different packages for the province several times, however notifications in this regard had not been issued ever. He demanded of the Government to implement its declared package for the province.