PESHAWAR: Pakistan Peoples Party provincial president Mohammad Ali Shah Bacha on Tuesday demanded of the federal government to extend the tax exemption period for Malakand division and tribal districts until 2030.

In a statement issued here, the PPP leader said the people of former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (Pata) wanted their tax exemption period extended until 2030 and his party supported the demand.

“We [PPP] urge Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to issue an executive order to exempt erstwhile Fata and Pata from taxes to remove unrest among the locals,” he said.

Mr Bacha, who is also a special assistant to the prime minister, said that those people should have better employment opportunities, the annual development funding of Rs100 billion and three per cent share in the NFC Award for their socioeconomic development.

Party leader says move will address unrest among locals

He said that basically, it was the PPP’s thought to empower the people of former Fata and Pata, who suffered a lot in the past and deserved government support for their welfare.

The PPP leader praised the residents of the region for their sacrifices in the war against terrorism and said that his party was sincere about their development through educational, social and political reforms and would continue raising its voice for them inside and outside parliament.

“The Pakistan Peoples Party has always worked for the welfare of tribal people and will continue to serve them,” he said.

The people of Malakand division have launched a campaign demanding an extension of the tax exemption period for them from 2023 to 2030.

They also want the federal government to provide them with better employment opportunities besides establishing hospitals and educational institutions, repairing damaged roads in and supplying natural gas to their region, and providing interest-free loans to the local youth and business community.

According to them, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly unanimously passed a resolution in 2022 urging the federal government to extend the period of tax exemption for Malakand division and the erstwhile Fata and Pata from 2023 to 2033.

The resolution was jointly moved by MPAs Fazal Hakim and Anwar Zeb of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Hidayatur Rehman of the opposition Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, Sahibzada Sanaullah of the Pakistan Peoples Party, Sobia Shahid of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Sardar Hussain Babak of the Awami National Party.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2023