Lahore chamber slams government’s one-sided ‘orders’

Annual meeting of All Pakistan Paper Merchants Association held.

LAHORE: Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said on Tuesday LCCI would not accept any statutory regulatory order (SRO) that was designed and/or implemented without due consultation with stakeholders.

Speaking at the 18th annual general meeting of All Pakistan Paper Merchants Association (APPMA), Sheikh said LCCI would solve the problems of paper merchants, as they had a primary role in the promotion of education.

He said the government should provide maximum facilities to traders and industrialists, as economic stability was not possible in the absence of a pro-business environment.

He also criticised the government for not inviting the business community to the recently held All Parties Conference.

Sheikh urged the newly elected office-bearers of APPMA to send their proposals to LCCI so that the same could be taken up with the authorities concerned.

He said a Citizens Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) would soon be formed to make the law and order situation better in the city.

APPMA President Khamis Saeed Butt said load-shedding, bad law and order and bureaucratic bottlenecks had ruined economic activities in Lahore.

The annual report of APPMA was also presented on the occasion.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 5^th, 2011.