By Commerce Reporter
LAHORE: Vision Alliance presidential candidate Ali Hussam Asghar has pledged to make the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry a stronger voice for businesses, saying the corporate sector creates employment for millions and must be protected from unfair treatment, excessive costs and unnecessary pressure.
Addressing a corporate-class dinner held as part of the Vision Alliance’s campaign for the upcoming LCCI elections, Asghar said Lahore’s industry, trade, import and export sectors required effective representation rather than what he described as policies and practices that had added to their difficulties.
“The corporate sector provides employment to millions of people, and we will not allow its exploitation,” Asghar told participants.
He said industrialists and traders had faced what he described as injustice and unfair treatment over the years, arguing that the chamber leadership should have acted more effectively to protect their interests.
Asghar said the Vision Alliance wanted to transform the LCCI into an institution that actively stands with its members when they encounter problems involving government departments, taxation, regulatory matters and the rising cost of doing business.
The dinner was hosted by Muhammad Ali, a Vision Alliance candidate for the LCCI Executive Committee from the corporate class. Organisers said a large number of corporate-class voters representing industry, import, export and other business sectors attended the gathering and expressed support for the alliance.
Founders Group Chairman Sheikh Muhammad Ibrahim also attended the event and urged LCCI members to support Vision Alliance candidates in the elections scheduled for September 23 for the corporate class and September 24 for the associate class.
He appealed to voters to support Vision Alliance candidates from serial numbers 1 to 15, saying the group would work to secure the legitimate rights of industry and strengthen the chamber’s role in resolving business problems.
Asghar, meanwhile, maintained that the election was about more than securing positions at the chamber. He said the business community needed a leadership capable of challenging policies that adversely affect trade and industry and engaging government institutions for practical solutions.
He pledged that, if elected, the Vision Alliance would focus on protecting legitimate business interests and ensuring that industrialists and traders receive stronger institutional representation.
Muhammad Ali thanked corporate-class voters for what organisers described as participation by hundreds of business representatives. Vision Alliance’s corporate-class candidates from serial numbers 1 to 15 also attended the gathering.
Among others, Zeeshan Khalil, Haji Muhammad Akram, Chaudhry Khadim Hussain, Mardan Zaidi and Asim Rafiq participated in the event.