Karachi industrialists announce shutdown on December 4

Industrialists in the economic nerve centre of Pakistan have announced a complete production shutdown on Monday (Dec 4) to force the caretaker government to reverse the unprecedented hikes in the gas tariffs. They estimate a per day export loss of $47 million from the port city. Businessmen have already displayed protest banners at the offices of all trade associations, demanding the government to immediately bring down the gas rates to Rs1,350 per mmBtu approved by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) instead of the high tariffs of Rs2,100-2,600 per mmBtu. This was announced by various industrial bodies at the third press conference held at the Site Association of Industry (SAI) on Thursday, which was attended by the office-bearers of various industrial associations and value-added textile sectors. Businessmen Group Vice-Chairman Jawed Bilwani said that based on the country’s total exports of $9.6 billion during the July-October period, the cumulative per day exports stand at $79m in which the share of Karachi is 60pc or $47m per day.