KARACHI: Recently a meeting was held at the Sindh Governor House with Governor Imran Ismail in the chair. Advisor to PM on Finance and Revenue Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Adviser to PM for Commerce, Industry and Investment, Abdul Razzaq Dawood, Advisor to PM for Institutional Reforms & Austerity, Dr. Ishrat Hussain, Special Assistant to PM for Petroleum, Mr.Nadeem Babar, SecretaryFinance and Chairman FBR also participated through video link.
The meeting was also attended by leading businessmen and the representatives of Food, Pharmaceutical, Textiles and Hotel industry who together thoroughly discussed the situation at hand and how to adapt and shape our lives in order to function in the prevailing conditions.
The effects of the coronavirus and resultantly the impact of the lockdown was discussed on length.
Mr. Zubair Baweja, Chairman Pakistan Hotels Association and Mr. Rehan Faiz Pirzada, Vice Chairman-PHA Southern Zone conveyed the concerns and reservations of the Pakistan Hotel industry about temporary conversion of hotels into quarantine centers.
While speaking on the occasion Mr. Zubair Baweja also exhibited concerns over the current state of the hotel industry stating that they are currently in pitiful conditions. He said that the Government of Pakistan should come up with special packages in order to help the Hotel Industry through these grave conditions as the financial strain on them in the form of salaries, supplies, amenities, and utility bills are very high and businesses are non-existent. He is hopeful for the support and fears that without it hotels in Pakistan could be on the brink of closing down.
