LCCI demands withdrawal of hike in POL prices.

LAHORE -- Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Saturday called upon the government to withdraw the recent hike in POL (Petrol, oil and lubricants) prices, apprehending that it would increase cost of doing business and industrial production in the country.

LCCI President Irfan Iqbal Sheikh said in a media statement that there is no denying the fact that oil prices were on the rise in the international market, but instead of passing on this surge to masses, the government should cut the number of taxes on petroleum products as the fuel is the engine of growth.

He said that if fuel would be heavily taxed, the entire economy would suffer, citing that only because of high cost of doing business in Pakistan, a large number of industrial units had already shifted their units to other countries.

Irfan Sheikh said that it is not the industrial sector alone but the agriculture sector would also suffer. "Pakistan...