Jamaat Ameer assures textile industry leaders of raising their concerns at parliament

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The Opposition Party, Jamaat-e-Islami, will raise the textile sector’s problems and concerns in the parliament and work with the government to help resolve these, said party chief Shafiqur Rahman during a meeting with industry leaders on Tuesday.

Mia Golam Porwar, assistant secretary general of Jamaat, detailed the issues discussed in the meeting at a post-meeting briefing.

“He will always speak about the country’s issues and will work with the government on these matters,” Porwar told reporters, conveying the opposition leader’s position.

Porwar said the Jamaat ameer also told the textile industry leaders that the opposition would support government initiatives in the public interest while opposing measures it considers harmful, describing the approach as constructive opposition.

Earlier, in the meeting, a delegation of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) raised sectoral concerns during a meeting with Shafiqur at his official residence in the capital.

The government has taken corrective steps over the persistent shortages of gas and electricity in the country, but still some textile mills are suffering disruptions, industry leaders told Shafiqur at the meeting.

“There has been considerable improvement, but some factories are still facing problems over gas and power supply,” BTMA Vice President Shafiqul Islam Sarker told the Opposition Leader.

He said the association also discussed problems related to incentives, increased taxes, Bangladesh’s graduation from the least developed country (LDC) category and misuse of bonded yarn.

“We have informed the opposition leader about our existing problems, including issues related to incentives, gas and electricity, LDC graduation and increased taxes,” he said.

He said the government had already addressed some of the concerns raised by the industry, while discussions were continuing on others.

He informed that the textile sector has around $32 billion in investment and serves as a key backward-linkage industry for Bangladesh’s readymade garment (RMG) sector by supplying raw materials.