MURREE: The toll tax charged at Satra Meel, on the Islamabad-Murree dual carriageway, has been a continuous source of tension between local commuters – who were historically exempt from such a tax – and toll plaza staff.

Under British rule, Sardar Khudadad Khan, a notable resident of Khanni Tak in Murree, had filed a case in court against the imposition of a 1 paisa entry tax on locals. As a result of the case, Murree residents were exempted from the tax.

The toll tax was re-imposed on locals in 1997, under Shehbaz Sharif’s provincial government. This resulted in a protest movement in which government buildings were burned and a number of cases were registered against local protesters.

Locals were once again declared exempt after the government held negotiations with leaders of the protest movement.

However, today local commuters are once again charged the toll tax on the dual carriageway, and contractors at the toll plaza said the National Highway Authority (NHA) has issued a letter saying the entry tax is collected with the prime minister’s approval.

Mohammad Sufyan Abbasi, the former National Assembly candidate from Murree who led the 28-day protest movement against the toll tax in 1997, said the NHA and government authorities should take notice of this problem and ensure people from Murree town are exempted.

He said the rude behaviour of toll plaza staff should also change, or locals would protest for their rights.

But NHA Public Relations General Manager Mushtaq Ahmed told Dawn that only law enforcement agencies’ vehicles, ambulances and other official government vehicles are exempt from toll tax.

He said that if the government issues an exemption or parliament enacts a law, a notification is sent to the concerned department, but the NHA has not received any such notification. He added that the NHA has given a third party operator the contract to operate the toll plaza on the aforementioned road.

He added that if there is a court decision in place the locals should produce it before the third party operator.

Locals, including Sardar Khudadad Khan’s grandson Sardar Mansoor Khan, have appealed to the prime minister and the Punjab chief minister to take notice of the matter.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2019