Traders observe shutdown across KP

PESHAWAR: The call for a strike from trader associations received an overwhelming response from the community in the provincial metropolis and elsewhere in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as shops remained shut on Wednesday to register protest at the taxation measures introduced by the federal government.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) introduced the “Tajir Dost Scheme” to bring traders into the formal tax structure, raising concerns among the traders. Markazi Tanzeem-e-Tajiran Pakistan and All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran called a nationwide strike against the “Tajir Dost Scheme”, heavy taxation and inflated power bills.

The opposition parties including Jamaat-e-Islami, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl and the Awami National Party backed the shutdown. Traders in KP joined their counterparts in other provinces and downed shutters against the taxes. Political parties supported the protesting traders.

The business centres in the provincial capital remained closed throughout the day. The shops in business hubs of Chowk Yadgar, Qissa Khwani, New Rampura Gate, Ashraf Road, Ghanta Ghar, New Muslim Meena Bazaar, Karimpura, Hashnagri, Dilzak Road, Faqirabad and elsewhere in city areas of Peshawar remained shut throughout the day as was done in other major town of KP. The closure brought the business activities to a halt.

The markets and shops remained shut on Saddar Road, University Road and other parts of the city. All the business centres wore a deserted look. Even shops in the peripheries remained shut. The traffic on roads remained very thin.

The Tanzeem-e-Tajiran Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had set up protest camps in different areas of the provincial metropolis - Chowk Yadgar, Chowk Abresham Garraan and Fawwara Chowk. Those sitting in the camps chanted slogans against the FBR and the federal government accusing them of burdening them with heavy taxes and high power and gas tariffs

Tanzeem-e-Tajiran KP chapter President Malik Mehr Elahi, Senior Vice-President Abdul Waheed Khan, and presidents of various traders’ associations, including the President of the Peshawar Chamber Salman Elahi Malik attended the protest camps and led rallies.

Addressing a rally on the Ashraf Road, Malik Mehr Elahi held the government responsible for the countrywide protest. He accused the government of deceiving traders with the so-called “Tajir Dost Scheme,” which he described as anti-traders and anti-businesses. He stated that the government and FBR were to blame for the scheme’s failure.

Malik Mehr Elahi argued that the scheme was never intended to be trader-friendly, saying it was designed to stifle business people across the country. “The traders are willing to pay income tax but will never accept the gunda tax,” he asserted.

Other speakers criticized the government, demanding the immediate withdrawal of the FBR’s Statutory Regulatory Orders and the abolition of the 2.5 percent withholding tax on edible items, medicines, and flour. They rejected the rent on meters and called for an end to agreements with independent power producers demanding the government to take back a raise in the gas tariff.

The protesting traders demanded an end to the perks provided to politicians, civil and military bureaucracies, and other VIPs, arguing that the country’s elite was shifting its burden onto common citizens and traders, which was unacceptable.

They noted that nowhere in the world were elites subsidized at the expense of ordinary citizens. The traders emphasized that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which suffered from militancy and military operations should have been granted special relief but that was not done. The speakers warned that they would close their businesses indefinitely if their demands were not met and the government would be solely responsible for that.

The JI provincial president Prof Muhammad Ibrahim visited various bazaars. Speaking to reporters, he criticized the rulers for pushing the country towards backwardness instead of devising policies to put it on the path of development. He accused the rulers of refusing to sacrifice their luxurious lifestyles while burdening traders and common people with taxes. He held the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) responsible for costly electricity and the country’s economic problems. He questioned the payment of billions of rupees to IPPs even when they were not generating electricity, claiming that the rulers and IPPs were looting the common people.

The shutdown was observed in all the districts of the KP. The traders took out processions and arranged protest camps to express anger at the taxes introduced by the federal government. In Charsadda, ANP President Aimal Wali Khan addressed the traders’ protest, blaming the unchecked expenditure of state machinery for the country’s economic woes.