Jirga asks govt to extend Malakand’s tax-free zone status

BATKHELA: A grand jirga here on Tuesday asked the government to extend the tax-free zone status of the Malakand division.

Jamaat-e-Islam Chief Sirajul Haq presided over the jirga. Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) provincial president Najmuddin Khan, Awami National Party (ANP) provincial General Secretary Sardar Hussain Babak, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz local leader Esal Khan, former governor Shaukatullah Khan, former speaker Bakht Jehan Khan and others attended the jirga.

Speaking on the occasion, the participants said that they would stage a protest if the government imposed taxes in Malakand. They said the people of Malakand had faced floods and lawlessness due to which the business community and the common people had suffered financially.

The jirga said that Malakand was underdeveloped and it should be given a comprehensive financial package on the pattern of the merged districts. JI leader Sirajul Haq said that nobody would be allowed to disturb the peace in Malakand division. He asked the government not to carry out electricity loadshedding in Malakand as it produced hydel power.

The JI leader said that the government should create job opportunities for the people of Malakand. He said that the chief minister also belonged to the Malakand division therefore he should also play his role in solving the problems of the local people.