PESHAWAR: Marble and mine owners have expressed concern about the imposition of exorbitant fuel price adjustment (FPA) in the electricity bills and threatened to launch a protest campaign from Jan 18 if the measure was not withdrawn.

Speaking at a news conference at the Peshawar Press Club on Tuesday, Marble and Mines Industry Development Association, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president Mohammad Sajjad said the mines owners had already been paying multiple taxes.

Flanked by other office-bearers of the association, including Mian Fazilat Shah, Taimoor Ali Khan, Khurshid Khan and others, Mr Sajjad said mining industry was the only source of income of about one million people, but the provincial government was least bothered to resolve the problems of mines owners.

He said the increasing number of taxes had caused problems for the industrialists as they were unable to continue their businesses. He said that ultimate sufferers of these punitive measures were the poor labourers and their families.

Mr Sajjad said the owners of mines, marbles and workers would start protest demonstrations from Jan 18 outside the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly building if the FPA was not withdrawn. “We will announce a strike from Jan 30 for an indefinite period in case the provincial government does not solve our problems,” he warned.

Published in Dawn, January 5th, 2022