LAHORE: Traders vowed to observe country-wide wheel-jam strike on Wednesday (tomorrow) against the imposition of withholding tax on all banking transactions and instruments above Rs50,000 per day.

They warned the PML-N government to withdraw the tax otherwise it would be responsible for financial losses as a result of the strike.

Khalid Pervez, who was flanked by his general secretary Abdur Razzaque Babbar, All Pakistan Truck Trawler Motor Owners Association president Lala Yasir Naseer and Goods Transport leader Nabeel Tariq, told a press conference at Urdu Bazaar that the Federal Board of Revenue was planning to freeze bank accounts of non-filers in order to deduct taxes. He urged the traders to draw their cash from banks to avoid deductions.

He said the strike was announced after consulting the goods transporters and traders of commodity markets.

On the other hand, the other faction of All Pakistan Anjuman-i-Tajiran (Khwaja Shafique group) had sent a letter to Khalid Pervez, urging him to call off strike as the ‘unsuccessful’ strike would damage the cause of traders community as it had already observed a `successful’ shutter down from Khyber to Karachi on Aug 1.

Addressing a news conference at the Lahore press club on Monday, central general secretary Naeem Mir said they would not be part of the strike on Aug 5.

Goods transport bodies will observe strike tomorrow

Interestingly, Mr Mir at his Aug 1 press conference had announced support to the Aug 5 strike call while saying that the cause of all traders against the tax was common.

Pervez told reporters that they were against the new levy since day one and had made it clear to the government that traders would hold a dialogue only after its withdrawal.

Criticising the other group of APAT for holding negotiations with the government and agreeing to 0.3pc tax from 0.6pc, he advised the government to only hold a dialogue with the Khalid Pervez group.

Central general secretary Abdur Razazque Babbar of Khalid Pervez group said the government wanted to collect the tax to fulfil international agenda which would not only badly affect the traders but citizens also.

Mir, on the other hand, said the APAT held a successful strike as it was backed by traders from across the country. “The successful strike in Lahore means successful strike in Punjab.”

He said they had earlier sent senior leadership of traders to Khalid Pervez to get united on single date for strike but he refused.

“But without his group’s involvement, all other factions got united and proved that Khalid Pervez has no importance.”

APAT president Ajmal Baloch asked other senior leadership of business community to persuade Khalid Pervez to call off strike as it would damage the cause of traders.

Mir said the APAT had sent a letter through courier, requesting Khalid Pervez to sit with them for the unity of traders and for joint struggle against the government’s unwarranted taxation. “We should adopt a joint strategy on the new tax.”

He said traders were united against the FBR chairman who was ‘ineligible’ for the post.

“Once there were two million taxpayers but they are just 0.8 million now- a proof of FBR corruption and inefficiency,” said Mir, adding due to wrong policies the traders had withdrawn Rs50 billion so far and this would result in more withdrawals if the policy continued.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2015

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