04 June 2004	Friday	15 Rabi-us-Saani 1425

PESHAWAR, June 3: The leader of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal Maulana Fazlur Rehman has asked the government to announce a special package for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (Pata) so that the tribesmen could benefit from the development in the social sector.

He also advised the federal government against levying any kind of tax in the tribal belt as it would hamper industrialization in the areas, which already lacked the infrastructure required for economic development.

He said this while speaking to a delegation of the Tribal Areas Chamber of Commerce and Industries, headed by its president Ghulam Ali. According to a press release issued by the TACCI on Thursday, Mr Ali apprised Maulana Fazlur Rehman of the problems being faced by local entrepreneurs aspiring to invest in the tribal areas.

The delegation expressed apprehensions about the taxes being introduced in the tribal belt. The delegation also held a separate meeting with the Minister for Frontier Regions and Water and Power about the problems and urged him to plead their case with the federal government.

The delegation also held a meeting with the elected representatives from the NWFP and Fata and sought their help for the resolution of their problems. Mr Ali told the parliamentarians that the industrialists were paying all other taxes to the government but they were opposed to paying general sales tax.

The government should give them more incentives in the next budget instead of imposing new taxes, he added. Fata parliamentarians expressed their contentment over the formation of the TACCI.