Lahore, April 10:

A Pakistani citizens rights group has urged the government to allow duty free import of cement from India to control spiralling prices. The Citizens’ Rights Association (CRA) at its executive committee meeting chaired by Nasir Ahmed expressed concern over the ‘daily rise’ in cement prices. It said any further hike would derail the economy, the Daily Times reported.

Ahmed said that president Pervez Musharraf had “ensured consistency in economic policies” in the last six years. But “constant increase in cement prices prompted by a well-knit and influential cement lobby is proving det-rimental to construction activities”. He said cement prices were set to rise in Pakistan due to unch-ecked activities of the cement cartel. The cartel had continued raising cement prices though prices in the international market had remained unchanged.