Costly energy is compelling the industrialization process in Karachi to take reverse gear that will result in a massive unemployment in the mega city very soon, said Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor here Sunday.

He said in a statement that many industrial units have already been shut and several others are running partially because the costly gas and electricity has made it very difficult for the industry to run even at margins. He said this doom and gloom in the industrial sector of the megacity is a bad omen for the whole country as Karachi is the major hub of industry and production.

Altaf Shakoor said that the government instead of negotiating with the private IPPs for reduction in tariff is constantly increasing power rates. He said the government should get full electricity load from the IPPs as per the capacity payments made to them and give this extra electricity to domestic and industrial consumers at reduced rates but it is not taking any such people-friendly step possibly due to the debt trap of the IMF.

He said the government mantra of promoting solar energy has already died and more reliance is there again on the imported fossil fuels which are very costly. He said the local reserves of natural gas are depleting fast and the government is shying away from completing Pak-Iran Gas Pipeline again due to IMF loan conditions and foreign pressure. He said the process of importing cheap crude oil from Russia has already been stopped for the reasons best known to our rulers.

Altaf Shakoor demanded a steep cut in fuel tariffs to let the industry survive and the economy flourish. He said joblessness in the country is already alarmingly high and the nation could not afford the closure of industry just to appease some private IPPs. He said the government should find alternative solutions to resolve the issues of industry particularly in the megacity of Karachi, where the situation is more dismal. He also asked the industrial associations to play their due role to save the dying industry of Karachi.