MANSEHRA: Traders’ bodies on Monday announced to observe a complete shutter down strike and take to the streets on Wednesday (Aug 28) to protest against the imposition of various taxes by the government.

“The country is already witnessing historic inflation, and the government has further vitiated the fragile socioeconomic conditions by imposing more taxes,” Haroonur Rasheed, central president of one of the two major traders’ bodies of Mansehra, told a presser.

Flanked by other members of the association, he said that their central leadership had taken up the issue of taxes with the federal government, urging it to withdraw them, but to no avail.

“Traders are already paying different taxes, and the imposition of new levies would further push them against the wall,” Mr Rasheed said.

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On the occasion, Haji Shahid, the patron-in-chief of the traders’ body, said people had been suffering the brunt of the policies dictated by the International Monetary Fund.

Meanwhile, central president of the other body of traders, Malik Shakeel Awan along with his cabinet members, announced to hold protest rallies and observe a shutter down strike on Wednesday.

“The consumers, including traders, are unable to pay the inflated electricity bills as the government has introduced multiple surcharges and hiked the tariff steeply,” he said.

In Lower Dir, the business community announced to observe a complete shutter down strike against the imposition of taxes and inflated power bills on Aug 28.

Talking to reporters, Anjuman-i-Tajiran Timergara president Haji Anwaruddin and general secretary Nasir Shah said the business community would not accept the imposition of taxes in Malakand division.

They said the traders’ central body had announced a countrywide strike on Aug 28, and the Lower Dir traders supported the call and would observe a shutter down strike as well.

The Samarbagh and Talash traders also announced to fully support the strike call. They said all the big and small shops and markets in their areas would remain closed on Wednesday.

In Mardan, Jamaat-i-Islami extended full support to the business community over their planned shutter down strike.

JI district emir Ghulam Rasool along with other key leaders, including Ibrahim Biland, Saeed Akhtar Advocate, Manzoorul Haq, Jehanzeb and Fazalullah, made the announcement during a press conference.

President of Markazi Tanzeem-i-Tajiran Ihsan Bacha and president of Mardan Chamber of Commerce and industry Zahir Khan were also present.

Mr Rasool said only two per cent families had been imposed on the people of Pakistan, sucking their blood through ‘cruel’ policies.

He said Jamaat would fully support and participant in the shutter down strike. “We will try our best to make it successful and effective,” he said.

He said that the so-called Tajir Dost Scheme of the government was in fact a “Tajir Dushman” (traders’ enemy) scheme, which was launched with the intention to “loot” the traders and the business classes with both hands.

“We will never accept the scheme,” he said, adding that the Federal Board of Revenue’s system was ‘flawed’.

He declared that the government was not serious about boosting the economy as on one hand heavy taxes were imposed on the middle and poor classes, on the other elite class wasn’t ready to do away with their perks and privileges and unnecessary expenditures.

In Charsadda, traders’ bodies announced to observe complete shutter down strike on Aug 28 to press the government to withdraw various taxes.

They expressed these views while addressing a reception camp and press conference at the Farooq-i-Azam Chowk on Monday. Those who were present on this occasion included Maulana Salahuddin Shakir, officials of three traders’ organisations, including Hakeemullah Fauji, Haji Siddiqullah, Lal Mohammad Lal, Mian Rehman Bacha, Iftikhar Hussain Saraf, Habib Taylor, Shiraz Khan, Jamaat-i-Islami district emir Shah Hussain Advocate and others.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2024