PESHAWAR, Sept 24: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti categorically said on Saturday that the Afghan Transit Trade (ATT) agreement was not acceptable at the cost of a single country and agreements not beneficial to Pakistan and its businessmen must be reviewed.

He said that the government wanted to enhance trade with all neighbouring states, but agreements like the ATT would prove meaningless if the business community did not support them.

Speaking as a chief guest at the inauguration ceremony of the Ilyas Bilour Research and Development Centre here at the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), Mr Hoti said that the government was taking steps to encourage business activities and any agreement not beneficial for the country would be strongly opposed.

Senior Minister Bashir Ahmad Bilour, Minister for Sports Aqil Shah, businessmen, industrialists, Smeda provincial chief Javed Iqbal Khattak and officials of financial institutes were present on the occasion.

The chief minister said that there were some comparative and real disadvantages in the Afghan Transit Trade agreement due to which the business community had been expressing reservations about them.

“The provincial government will oppose the controversial ATT agreement,” Mr Hoti said and called for reviewing the trade pact in consultation with the business community of the province.

He said that the government wanted to enhance trade and extend its benefits to all neighbouring countries. He stressed the need for creation of maximum opportunities for the youth and said the government was taking initiatives in this regard.

About the Prime Minister's Relief Package for the business community, he said that the province was still facing insurgency and terrorism and called for extension of various compensation packages to mitigate the problems of the affected people.  He opposed the proposal of a five-day work week and said that the provincial government had already conveyed its concerns to relevant authorities about the idea.

He said that due to some harsh steps for provision of security the business community had also been affected, but the government took such steps in line with its duty to provide protection to the life and property of the people.

However, he directed the inspector general of police to devise a security plan in consultation with the community to ensure maximum access of shoppers to the business centres during the shopping season such as Eid days.

The chief minister said that the business community had always extended assistance to the calamity-hit people and praised them for provision of Rs0.5 million for the anti-dengue fumigation in different cities.

He said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had paid a much higher price in the war against terrorism. He maintained that funerals, mosques, politicians, religious clerics, educational institutions, bazaars and children had been targeted in different acts of terrorism.—APP