DLP Report
PESHAWAR
President of the Kurram Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Haji Niaz Muhammad, has strongly criticized the sudden and retrospective billing by Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), terming it a serious and unjust burden on the country’s trade and industry.
In a statement issued here he said the business community is already grappling with inflation, recession, and an ongoing energy crisis, and now the imposition of backdated bills has struck another blow to the fragile economy, which cannot be tolerated under any circumstances.
Haji Niaz Muhammad warned that this arbitrary step has badly disrupted industrial planning, increased operational costs multiple times, and created the risk of export orders being defaulted. He cautioned that such instability will not only shrink employment opportunities at the local level but will also tarnish Pakistan’s credibility in international markets. He further said that unjust energy pricing and unpredictability are damaging the business climate, discouraging both local and foreign investors.
He stressed that business bodies across federal and provincial levels will raise this issue at every available forum, and if this unjust decision is not reviewed, the business community will have no choice but to announce a protest strategy.
The President of the Kurram Chamber urged the government and relevant authorities to withdraw the retrospective billing without delay and introduce transparency in the energy policy to provide stability to industries.
Haji Niaz Muhammad reiterated that Pakistan’s economy runs on two wheels – industry and agriculture – and weakening either of them would halt the nation’s development journey. He emphasized that in the current environment, the survival of industries is only possible if the government stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the business community and relieves them from such unexpected burdens.
