GILGIT: Complete shutter down and wheel jam strike was observed across Gilgit-Baltistan on Thursday against imposition of taxes on local people by federal government without determining the constitutional status of the region.

The members of different political parties, civil society organisations and trade unions held protest rallies in Gilgit, Diamer, Hunza,Skardu, Ghizer, Astore, Nagar.

Attendance in schools, colleges and offices also remained thin owing to non-availability of transport.

Main roads in the region including Karakoram Highway, Gilgit-Skardu Road and Ghizer-Chitral Road remained closed for six hours. The markets and roads wore a deserted look and life came to a standstill in the region while people faced hardships owing to the strike.

The cable operators also shut their services in Giligt city to show solidity with the protesters.

The call for the strike was given by recently formed Anti-Tax Movement (ATM), an alliance of trade unions and political and religious parties of the region except the ruling PML-N.

The main rally was taken out from Saddar Bazaar. Hundreds of workers of political parties and members of civil society and trade unions took part in the rally.

Carrying placards, the protesters chanted slogans against federal and regional government for imposition of taxes. They said that collection of income tax, general sales tax withholding tax from the people of the region without giving them representation in the parliament was unlawful.

They said that they had been protesting against the illegal taxes for the last many years but federal and regional governments were not taking their protest seriously.

They said that federal government was collecting Rs30 million annually as GST from local people. They said that despite exempting people of Gilgit-Baltistan from taxes, the federal government issues notification about imposition of more taxes. They said that federal government was reluctant to provide constitutional rights to local people.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2016