KARACHI, Jan 10: Heavy losses suffered by industrialists and other businessmen in violent disturbances following the Dec 27 assassination of former premier Ms Benazir Bhutto has rendered thousands of people jobless.
This was stated by Sindh (caretaker) Minister for Labour and Industries Arif Ali Khan Abbasi while talking to a group of journalists here on Thursday.
A large number of factories and industrial units had been destroyed by rioters and arsonists during the violence. Goods and commodities stocked at mills, factories and godowns were either looted or destroyed. Consignments of food, grain and other commodities were caught in the rioting when rioters attacked and destroyed several hundred vehicles in different parts of the city.
In the North Karachi Industrial Zone alone, a large number of factories sustained heavy damage at the hands of rioters and the owners of such units, after suffering huge losses, had to stop production and lay off workers. This has resulted in severe financial miseries to the workers’ families.“There is a need to realise human sufferings,” the minister said, pointing out that “thousands of workers have been deprived of their livelihood and each of the workers has many dependents relying solely on his income.”
Being low-paid workers, they have their women family members become employed in some other business concern to make the two ends meet. “Such workers, mostly daily-wagers, are now devastated,” he observed.
Capt (Retd) Moeez of the North Karachi Industrialists Association told Dawn that there were about 30-35 per cent women workers employed by the industrial units functioning in the zone.
Commenting on the possibilities of the industrial units getting back to normal production, Mr Abbasi said it was very difficult at this stage to say how much time it would take because the affected industrialists were faced with a challenge of replacing their machinery and equipment with the new ones, besides getting the whole structures of their factories repaired. “A considerable amount of extra investment is involved,” he pointed out.
The minister said that his department had invited claims for compensation to be submitted by Jan 21. The claims would eventually be forwarded to the Federal Commission set up by the caretaker Prime Minister, Mohammadmian Soomro, for the disbursement of compensation.
He said that the government had been suffering a loss of Rs250 million per day in revenues since Dec 27 and it was still uncertain how long it would continue to bear the loss.
Apart from the local entrepreneurs, Mr Abbasi said, a Sri Lankan and an Italian concern lost their garment manufacturing units along with all attached assets.
“The government has decided to beef up security to industries,” he said, adding that he would also recommend issuance of arms licences to industrialists so that they could counter such attacks in future.
Referring to the claims submitted so far, the minister said that 16 units in Korangi and six in Landhi had claimed having suffering a collective loss of more than Rs7 billion.
