Claim: All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has announced the closure of textile mills across the country from 31 December 2022.
Fact: APTMA clarified that the news regarding the closure of the textile industry is baseless and fake.
Fact or Fiction?
On 26 December 2022, the Facebook page The Bahawalpur shared a screenshot of a TV channel’s bulletin claiming that the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has announced the closure of textile mills across the country from 31 December 2022. It also stated that 1600 textile mills have already closed, five million jobs will be lost, and 30 million people will be affected due to the closure.
The caption of the post reads, “Leaving politics aside, let me tell you that a year ago there was a shortage of workers in textile mills in Faisalabad and many mills had started exporting goods out of Pakistan and many mills had less workers and more work and they were looking for workers. The textile sector got ruined in one year. Today 1600 mills have closed.”
Soch Fact Check found the claim to be misleading. The APTMA clarified via a notification posted on Twitter that the news circulating in the media regarding the closure of the textile industry is baseless.
— All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (@APTMAofficial) December 26, 2022
“Pakistan Textile Mills Association strongly rejects the fake news regarding the closure of the Textile Industry from Saturday 30th December 2022, circulating in the media,” the notification stated.
APTMA said that, “The propaganda is purely based on speculations and assumptions deduced from the letter sent to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, explaining the on-ground situation of the Textile sector and the operational roadblocks.”
APTMA’s Patron-in-Chief, Dr Gohar Ejaz, wrote a detailed letter to the Prime Minister on 23 December 2022 to highlight the challenges faced by the export sector and inform him about the textile sector operating at a capacity utilisation of less than 50% across the country due to various issues.
The business magazine Profit reported that two major textile industries, namely Nishat Chunian and Kohinoor Mills, announced a temporary closure in December 2022 due to market conditions.
Dawn and Geo News also carried a similar report about Nishat Chunian Limited, one of Pakistan’s largest textile companies, partially suspending operations.
Soch Fact Check ascertained that the viral screenshot first made rounds on social media in October 2022 when some media outlets such as Daily Times, 24 News HD and Bol News reported that APTMA had decided to shut down textile mills across the country from 8 October.
Virality
On Twitter, the claim was found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
Conclusion: The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association has said that the news regarding the closure of the textile industry from the end of December 2022 is baseless.