SWAT: President of the Malakand Division Traders Federation Abdul Rahim on Wednesday warned that a ‘civil disobedience’ movement would be launched if the federal government failed to withdraw the decision to impose taxes in the tribal districts and the Malakand division.

Addressing a protest demonstration by traders and representatives of various organisations at Nishat Chowk, Mingora, on Wednesday, he said people across Malakand division would stop paying electricity and gas bills from next month if the government did not reverse its decision.

Mr Rahim and other speakers said the people of Malakand and the former tribal areas had suffered decades of militancy, military operations, displacement, natural disasters and economic hardship. They argued that the region needed financial support and incentives to rebuild its economy rather than additional taxation.

They demanded that the government provide interest-free loans and other incentives to traders and businesses so that economic activity could be revived and people could become financially self-reliant.

Warn of ‘civil disobedience’ if Centre doesn’t reverse decision

The taxation issue has triggered a broader protest movement across Malakand division in recent months. Traders, political parties, civil society groups and other stakeholders have held demonstrations and strikes, demanding the restoration or continuation of the region’s tax-free status.

The controversy intensified after the federal government moved to end longstanding tax exemptions for Malakand and the merged districts.

In July, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government announced the abolition of provincial taxes in Malakand and the merged districts, while the provincial cabinet subsequently approved tax relief measures covering services and certain industrial undertakings.

In Shangla, the All Trade Union Bisham staged a demonstration at Bisham Chowk on Wednesday against the imposition of taxes in Malakand division.

Addressing the protesters, the trade union president Mohammad Zada said the taxes imposed on the people of Malakand were unacceptable. He said the protest would continue in phases and announced that the Swat Motorway would be blocked on Oct 7 as part of the campaign.

Mr Zada said traders would then stage a sit-in on the Karakoram Highway.

In Lower Dir, traders, political leaders and civil society representatives on Wednesday warned the government that they would block the Malakand Motorway at the Chakdara Interchange on Oct 7 if the decision to impose taxes in Malakand division was not withdrawn.

The warning was issued during a protest demonstration organised by the Timergara Traders Association at Gorgorai Chowk, where members of the business community, political activists, social figures and residents gathered in large numbers.

The protesters carried banners and placards bearing slogans against the taxes and demanded that the government honour the region’s tax-exempt status.

Addressing the gathering, traders association president Haji Anwaruddin, chamber of commerce president Mian Noor Alam Bacha, former MNA Sahibzada Yaqoob Khan of Jamaat-i-Islami, Pakistan Peoples Party district president Nawabzada Ahmad Zeb Khan, and others criticised the federal government’s taxation plan.

The speakers said Malakand division remained one of the most underdeveloped regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and had suffered heavily from militancy, earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters over the past two decades.

The traders’ leaders warned that if the taxation decision was not withdrawn immediately, the protest movement would be expanded across the division.

Similarly, traders, political leaders and tribal elders staged a protest demonstration in Talash Bazaar on Wednesday against the imposition of taxes in Malakand division.

In Mohmand, traders took to the streets in Mian Mandi Bazaar against the imposition of taxes.

Speaking at the protest, the traders’ leaders said people in the former tribal areas were facing growing financial pressures while many basic infrastructure and development projects remained incomplete.

They said a lack of employment opportunities was affecting young people and that disruptions to cross-border trade had dealt a serious blow to businesses in Mian Mandi and other markets.

The speakers said the closure of marble factories had added to unemployment in the district.

They claimed that construction work on the Pak-Afghan border road had remained suspended for around eight years.

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2026