KARACHI, July 29: The Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association has announced a countrywide strike from August 1, 2008 if their demands were not accepted by the government.

The decision came up at a general body meeting of the association held at its office in Multan on Monday night.

The meeting resolved that government institutions and bureaucracy were creating problems instead of resolving them. It warned that they would not tolerate this malpractice.

They said the proposed strike would continue till the government accepts their demands including withdrawal of fee of cotton standardised, ending cotton programme, removing hurdles in getting working licence, besides introducing a policy to declare the cotton ginning industry as zero-rated industry and ending 100 per cent refundable tax on encashment of cheques and electricity bills.—PPI