Govt urged to extend tax concession for merged districts

BARA: The Khyber Mines Owner Association on Tuesday asked the federal government to extend the tax concession for merged districts due to the deteriorating security situation and ensure the immediate issuance of EL-04 licenses to natural resource-related owners.

Talking to the journalists, Khyber Mines Owners Association President Asghar Afridi said that the mine owners in merged districts suffered when militancy was at its peak in KP.

He said that the issuance of EL-04 licenses for procedures should be solved immediately for the Bara and Kalakhel areas so that they could work wherever possible because work cannot be done in many areas due to insecurity.

Afridi maintained that the tax concession and other issues would be resolved as soon as possible so that people associated with the trade and their families could benefit from that.

He maintained that the business of the tribal people had already been affected during prolonged militancy.

“On the one hand, the government does not issue explosive licences to Bara and Kalakhel mine owners while on the other, the owners are facing a host of problems,” he complained.