QUETTA: The Quetta Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCCI) on Saturday slammed the behaviour of Federal Board of Revenue officials and warned of a strike by Balochistan traders if their issues are not resolved.

At a press conference, criticising the federal government and the FBR, QCCI senior vice president Badaruddin Kakar alleged that the officials of the revenue authority are trying to stop legal trade in Balochistan and encouraging smuggling.

“On the orders of Appraisement Collectorate FBR Islamabad, our goods are being stopped on every second day. It seems that they do not want any trade activity for Balochistan,” Kakar claimed.

“Despite customs clearance, trucks carrying legal imports and exports are stopped at the border. Instead of legal trade, they are deliberately promoting smuggling. This is bringing legal trade activities to a standstill in Balochistan,” Kakar said, adding that the QCCI helps promote legal trade.

“If this situation continues, we will go on a strike. Doing trade at Pak-Iran and Pak-Afghan borders is tough but we do it. However, neither the chief collector in Quetta has met us nor is he interested in resolving our problems,” he added.

Urging traders and other stakeholders to join the strike, the QCCI office bearer urged that the issue must be resolved at the earliest.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2019