LAHORE: The trading community has decided to join the protest rally of the opposition parties outside the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) office in Islamabad today (Tuesday) to seek answers to questions regarding foreign funding of various parties.

All Pakistan Anjuman Tajran (APAT) General Secretary Naeem Mir said in a video message while leaving for Islamabad on Monday that the traders would assemble at Nawaz Sharif Park, Shamsabad, on Murree Road in Rawalpindi in the morning and then, led by local trader leaders Shahid Ghafoor Paracha and Rauf Mughal, would march towards the ECP office in Islamabad.

Appealing to the trading community as well as the general public to join the protest, Mr Mir argued that the rally was aimed at seeking sources of funds of the political parties, particularly the ruling party, the financiers, the sources of income and their objectives for doling out huge amounts of money.

The traders’ leader said if answers to the above-mentioned questions were not found, the masses would continue to bear its brunt in the form of price hike, higher tariffs of petrol, electricity and gas and crackdown on traders’ community.

Referring to the slow progress in the ruling PTI’s foreign funding case, he said the nation deserved to be told why the rulers were not ready to give details of their foreign donations and why should not such a party be banned unless it comes clean on its financial matters.

Published in Dawn, January 19th, 2021