Pakistan Ready-made Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA) on Friday demanded the government conduct a fair and impartial investigation into the factory fire tragedy in Baldia Town.
Industrialists said the culprits should be taken to task, be it owners of the factory, the government agencies, terrorists or the so-called “Bhatta” mafia, as was currently being conjectured.
They also demanded effective measures to thwart such incidents from recurring.
Offering condolences to the families of victims, PRGMEA office-bearers and members called upon the government to form a public-private committee to find ways to avoid such deadly incidents in the future and a policy should be formulated on their recommendations and implemented in letter and spirit.
A PRGMEA spokesman pointed out that most of the garments factories in the country were involved in the export of garments and were compliant with social and safety standards practiced not only in Pakistan, but around the world also.
They are regularly audited by international inspectors, local agents, as well as local government departments. In fact, international buyers do not place orders with garment factories until they are certified. It is hard to believe incident of such catastrophe has occurred after going through all these audits,” he said.
He said the garments industry exported product worth about $4 billion and employed 40 percent of the people employed in the textile sector.
Thus, it was a major employer of people and contributed substantially to the national exchequer.
“In view of the above, we request all government departments concerned, media and general public to refrain from unnecessary conjecturing and blame game, as this would be extremely detrimental for the country’s exports and government’s image internationally,” the spokesman said, adding that let the commission’s finding be known and then the necessary course of action be taken.
