PESHAWAR, Nov 2: The Businessmen Panel, a group of traders and industrialists of NWFP, has announced to contest the election for the offices of Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) due this month.

“The group, which did not contest the last two elections, will make a stunning comeback by winning all the four executive committee seats,” Numan Wazir, president Industrial Association of Peshawar and a leader of the panel told Dawn on Friday.

The Businessmen Panel, headed by former FPCCI vice-president Faiz Rasul Khan, had kept itself away from the SCCI politics, which provided a chance to the Businessmen Forum, led by Senator Ilyas Ahmad Bilour, to fully dominate the chamber.

“During last two years, the ruling group in chamber did nothing for the business community rather it turned the trade body into a family enterprise. Their poor performance is enough for the genuine traders and industrialists to realise that unless they stand against the monopolists, development of trade and industry in the province is not possible,” explained Mr Wazir.

The Businessmen Panel had couple of meetings during last one week and decided that it would field candidate against every vacant post and would make a comeback.

Out of 22 executive committee seats of the SCCI four are going to be vacant this year and according to the election schedule polling will be held on Nov 29. Following the election, the executive committee will elect president, senior vice-president and vice-president of the SCCI for the next tenure.

The SCCI members affiliated to the ruling Businessmen Forum told Dawn that currently their group enjoyed support of the whole business community and there was not a least chance for their opponent group to win the top slots of the chamber.

They said if the Businessmen Panel won all the four seats even then it won’t be able to clinch the top positions mainly because the ruling group still has 18 members in the executive committee, who will vote in election for the top offices.

It may be pointed out that the chamber elections scheduled for September next will be held under the new Trade Organisation Ordinance for the whole executive committee seats. It could offer an equal opportunity to all the major groups to contest.