Islamabad:
Federal Minister for Industries and Production Rana Tanveer Hussain said on Wednesday that the government did not intend to close public service stores but intended to restructure them.
Responding to the concerns highlighted by Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, he said: “We do not close public service stores; we restructure them. Political appointments have been made in these stores.”
He said that the future of regular public service stores was secure.
The Minister said that if public service stores were initially created to facilitate the public to provide cheaper second -hand items, many have been opened in unnecessary places due to political considerations.
PPP chief Raja Perviz Ashraf, raised the question to the National Assembly, recalling that the Minister of Industries and Production had previously assured the Chamber that public service stores would not be closed.
He added that the case had also been discussed in the parliamentary committee concerned, where members of all political parties have unanimously agreed not to close public service stores.
He said thousands of employees depend on these stores for their subsistence, which makes their operation continuously crucial.
