In an interview with ARY News, Hamid Zaman, Chairman North of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), dubbed the ousting of the PTI-led government as “cruel.”
Zaman remarked that as a businessman and an industrialist, “I think there was no need for this meddling.” He said that “without indulging in a political debate I think that whatever happened, irrespective of the reasons, was very cruel.”
He maintained that he was unable to comprehend the reason behind the change in regime despite the economic prowess which the PTI-led government was able to spur.
Zaman underscored that the change in regime and the instability accompanied with it adversely affected the progress of the past years. He added that the textile industry’s achievements during the PTI-led government were laid on a very fragile and developing foundation, and the current instability had stalled the build-up of that foundation.
Read more: Addressing the Mountain of Debt
He admitted that the PTI-led government too had its follies but added that this was the first time in his fifty years of him being in the business sector that any government had provided such a positive environment for businesses and industries to grow.
He added that this was the first time that we were getting regionally competitive energy tariffs, and this was the first time that Pakistan was competing with Bangladesh, India, and Vietnam in terms of energy rates.
Separately he added that the policies introduced by financial institutions during the tenure of the PTI-led government provided a very enabling environment for the businesses. It is pertinent to mention that last year $5 billion of expansion was made in the textile sector.
Read more: PTI’s Muzzammil Aslam says govt reiterates his claims of 5-6% growth
Additionally, from 1947 to 2018, Pakistan could only manage to bring its exports to $13 billion. However, in the past four years – under the PTI-led government – exports doubled and aimed to surpass $26 billion by the end of FY23.
On Monday, APTMA tweeted that “A sustainable & sovereign political environment will bring more investments.” It added that “at the present rate, we can add $3Bn of investments with a potential of adding up to $5Bn more by end of next year.”
From 1947 to 2018, we could only manage to bring our exports to $13Bn, whereas in the past 4yrs, exports doubled – aiming for $26Bn by the end of FY23.
— All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (@APTMAofficial) May 16, 2022