PESHAWAR: The Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry has urged the provincial government to stop harassing the business community through raids and support it to strengthen economy.

In a statement here on Monday, chamber president Faiz Mohammad Faizi said on one hand, the food department was raiding food outlets and on the other, the Institute of Environmental Protection was harassing industrialists.

He said the tax department’s actions were in addition.

“It is a matter of serious concern for us, the business community, that the Institute of Environmental Protection’s officials are cracking down on chipboard factories and are sealing them for allegedly causing environmental pollution,” he said.

The SCCI chief said the crackdown was an attempt to sabotage the process of industrialisation in the province and would render industrial workers jobless.

He added that harassment could force investors and industrialists to shift to other parts of the country and thus, causing massive unemployment.

Mr Faizi said the authorities should take the SCCI and Industrialists Association Hayatabad into confidence before carrying out raids by the Institute for Environment Protection to avoid complications.

Published in Dawn, April 16th, 2019