Businessmen in the industrial city of Faisalabad have expressed fears over the city’s security situation, which got more notorious with the murder of Khawaja Javed Aziz, a prominent industrialist, in a robbery.
Aziz, owner of Waqas Textiles, was killed while resisting robbers who looted Rs 9 million in cash and escaped. Traders and businessmen have since then voiced up their concerns over poor law and order in the country’s textile hub.
At a meeting of Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) on Wednesday, PTEA Chairman Rana Arif Tauseef said the city generated 60 percent of the country’s total revenue but it had been left at the mercy of criminals.
He said the deteriorating security was seriously threatening the industry and that traders faced death if they did not comply with the criminals’ demands.
He said the government had failed to provide them protection and that the criminals possessed more sophisticated weapons than the police.
He said the negligence shown by the authorities was repelling investment in the country and the businessmen were living in a state of fear. Chairmen of various trade bodies and businessmen attended the meeting and urged for a crackdown on criminals to restore peace in the city.