Mansehra traders to observe shutdown

MANSEHRA: Two rival groups of traders here on Monday announced a shutdown strike on August 28 to protest against the imposition of various taxes.

“The country has been passing through a historic inflation and government further fueled already fragile socioeconomic condition while imposing more taxes and levies,” Haroonur Rasheed, the president of one of two traders’ bodies, told a presser here when he backed the strike called by the traders throughout the country.

Flanked by other office-bearers, he said: “Our business has been running in breakeven owing to high inflation as we have already been paying different taxes.” Meanwhile, the president of other groups Malik Shakeel Awan along with other office-bearers members announced to hold protest rallies and observe a shutdown strike on Wednesday.

“Traders, even domestic consumers couldn’t pay electricity utility bills for the last many months after the government introduced multiple tariff and surcharges system,” he said. Awan said that if any consumer uses over 300 units and brings down that consumption even to 100 units in the next month, the government would charge rates applied for 300 units for the next six months.

“The government should withdraw all taxes and end the highest tariff system which enhanced electricity consumers’ bills four to five times higher,” he said.