Mardan   -  Azghar Khan, Chairman of the All Pakistan Marble Industries Association (APMIA), stated that Pakistan currently hosts more than 2,300 large marble and granite factories, along with 4,000 marble shops across the country. These establishments employ 200,000 families, both directly and indirectly, and contribute significant tax revenues to the government. Additionally, they generate up to $50 million annually from exports, bolstering foreign exchange reserves.

Azghar Khan highlighted challenges in Pakistan’s power sector, including a power generation capacity of 40,813 MW, a maximum requirement of 28,000 MW, and a transmission capacity of 23,000 MW. He noted that distribution companies are facing an overall loss of 17%, with individual companies like PESCO reporting losses as high as 37%.

He pointed out that the circular debt currently stands at Rs 2,670 billion, and the estimated T&D loss for the current year is Rs 500 billion. Khan attributed these issues to Pakistan’s reliance on imported fuel for electricity generation, the payment of electricity costs and capacity charges in dollars, and long-term contracts that are prone to inaccuracy.