UPPER DIR: The political leadership in Upper Dir on Friday unanimously opposed enforcement of the Customs Act in Malakand Division and warned of serious consequences if the decision was not withdrawn immediately.

The decision was announced at a multi-party conference held here on Friday. It was announced that a complete shutter down strike would be observed on July 24 to protest the Customs Act.

Provincial Senior Minister Inayatullah Khan of JI, former federal minister Najmuddin Khan, JI’s parliamentary leader in the National Assembly Sahibzada Tariqullah, district nazim Sahibzada Fasihullah, tehsil nazims Mir Makhaz Uddin and Jehan Alam, former MPA Anwar Khan of PPP, Nisar Wardag of PML-N, Sultan Yousaf Bacha of QWP and Farhad Ali of PTI spoke on the occasion.

They claimed the act was violation of a treaty reached at the time of accession of Dir, Swat and Chitral states to Pakistan in 1969. According to them, no taxes could be imposed in Malakand under that pact. Inayatullah said neither the provincial assembly nor the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet had approved the enforcement of the Customs Act in Malakand.

He said the summary was sent to the president by the former KP governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmad Khan through the provincial home department. He said the people of the division had never accepted imposition of taxes in the past and would continue to do so in future as well.

The minister said they had been requesting for a meeting with the president to discuss the issue but there had been no reply from the presidency. He said a letter had been sent to the president and warned that they could release the letter to the media if no other option was availed by the government.

Najmuddin Khan said the parliament and the provincial assembly had no jurisdiction in Pata under article 247 of the Constitution, wondering how taxes could be imposed if the legislatures had no powers to legislate on the matter.

He said if the government did not withdraw the Customs Act, it should be ready for a war. Tariqullah also implied a similar threat, saying the government had messed with the people in 1970 in Dir’s Kohistan over royalty but accepted everything when people took up arms.

Former MPA Anwar Khan said people fought terrorists in Malakand Division and also defended the country’s border with Afghanistan.

The speakers said the division had remained underdeveloped and all districts of it lacked basic facilities, meaning that they were already 60 years behind the rest of Pakistan. They said the Customs Act would create more financial woes for the people of the impoverished, terrorism-wracked and floods-hit region. Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2016