PESHAWAR: Traders of the provincial capital on Saturday warned that they would agitate if the government imposed new taxes in the next fiscal.

“We have to shut down our businesses or begin street protests as the government is not paying attention to our complaints about the next budget, especially imposition of new taxes and increase in the existing ones,” Markazi Tanzeem-i-Tajiran Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president Malik Meher Ilahi told Dawn.

He said the traders of Peshawar had decided to begin an anti-budget campaign tomorrow (Monday) as the government didn’t take the business community into confidence about fiscal measures to be carried out in the next financial year.

The trader leader said the decision about protest was made during a joint meeting of traders from different bazaars of Peshawar.

Say will put up black banners, set up protest camp in city next week

He said the government was not serious about holding negotiations with it at least to explain logic for imposition of the multiple taxes, heavy fines by the local administration and sealing workplaces of traders.

Mr Ilahi said the traders would put up black banners on all historical gates, prominent places in bazaars, streets and main roads on Monday to condemn new taxes.

He also said the traders and vendors would set up a protest camp at Chowk Yadgar on Thursday, where their representatives would announce their demands and future course of action in a news conference.

“We are in contact with trader unions of different districts to spread the protest campaign across the province,” he said.

The trader leader, who is also head of the traders’ action committee, said the business community would be mobilised for the success of the protest.

He said the business community was apolitical, so it was ready to hold dialogue with the government over its issues but the chief minister was not ready to spare time for the purpose.

“I came across the chief minister on different occasions thrice, who promised me a meeting with traders, but the promise hasn’t been fulfilled until now,” he said.

Mr Ilahi said traders would call off the protest campaign if their demands were met.

He alleged that the government departments had begun harassing traders and vendors on different pretexts, so many of them had kept their businesses closed to prevent raids.

The trader leader complained about growing prices of consumer goods and essential medicines and imposition of new taxes and said the people were finding it difficult to make both ends meet.

He also resented the issuance of inflated utility bills and demanded the resolution of the people’s misery about it.

Mr Ilahi said though the business community had suffered heavily due to the prolonged war against terrorism, the successive governments didn’t support them and the current government worsened things for them by imposing new taxes.

Published in Dawn, June 23rd, 2019