LAHORE, June 7: The Commerce Ministry has questioned the legality of the Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (north zone) and termed it only a “proposed organization with no legal status”. In a letter (obtained by Dawn on Tuesday), the ministry alleged that only 21, out of total 222 members of the proposed WCCI, possessed national tax numbers (NTN) whereas a large number did not even have national identity cards.

The letter asked the WCCI to furnish a new list of members with NTNs and IDs. It also resented the fact that 195 members of WCCI belonged to Punjab alone and 16 to the federal capital. “It makes entire organisation lopsided.”

It asked the organisers to include more members from Northern Areas and Azad Kashmir.

The constitution of the executive committee, according to Article 8 of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the proposed chamber, was contrary to mutually-agreed formula i.e equal number of seats in the executive committee for each civil division within zone.

“In such a situation, how the WCCI is making claims about its legality and collecting funds by arranging exhibitions,” asks a separate paper attached to the letter. It said that Dr Shehla Javed Akram had not been officially declared as the president of Women Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

When contacted, Dr Shehla termed the letter part of a slander campaign against the WCCI and said that it was issued in the third week of April. Since then, further correspondence had taken place and all the points taken up by the ministry had been clarified by the WCCI. “The Ministry has issued a letter of acceptance to the chamber.”

But Dr Shehla failed to provide any documentary evidence of the acceptance by the Ministry of Commerce.