Farmers threaten to besiege KP Assembly to protest agri tax

SWABI/TAKHTBHAI: The associations of farmers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday threatened to launch a protest movement and besiege the Provincial Assembly if the agriculture tax was not withdrawn forthwith.

The leaders of Ittehad-e-Keshtkaran, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Kisan Board Pakistan in separate consultative meetings in Swabi and Takhtbhai announced to launch a decisive protest movement against the proposed Agricultural Income Tax Bill 2025, which was recently approved at the Provincial Assembly.

A meeting was held under the chairmanship of Arif Ali Khan, chairman Ittehad-e-Kashtkaran, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and member of the Pakhtun Qaumi Jirga Liaqat Yousafzai at Sra China in Swabi which was attended by landowners and growers’ representatives from various districts.

The participants through a unanimous resolution rejected the Agricultural Income Tax Bill 2025 and urged the provincial government to immediately withdraw this oppressive tax.

It was announced that a protest movement against this tax would commence from Marghuz, Swabi, at 2 pm on February 4 followed by rallies in Mardan, Nowshera, Charsadda, southern districts, Malakand, and Hazara division to mobilize farmers.

The growers’ leaders also said that meetings with provincial assembly members would also be held to apprise them of their problems and convince them not to support the bill in question.

They said that they would go for a strong protest movement and sit-ins outside the provincial assembly if their demands were not met.

The meeting also demanded the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor to refuse to sign this bill.

Addressing the gathering, speakers including Liaqat Yousafzai, Iqbal Khan of Shiva, Fazl Rabi Khan, Ahmad Jan Kaka, Asfandyar Khan and others said that the entire country was currently being run under the IMF directives.

They criticised the rulers for imposing huge taxes on petrol, diesel, gas, electricity and other essential commodities to sustain the luxuries of the ruling elite, while making life unbearable for the common people.

They vowed that resistance was the only solution left with them if demands were not met.

“Imposing tax on agricultural income is equivalent to destroying agriculture. If the government does not withdraw its decision, all farmers in the province would besiege the provincial assembly in protest,” the farmers threatened.

In Takhtbhai, Kisan Board Pakistan vice-president Rizwanullah Khan while speaking at a jirga of farmers said that the government’s decision to impose a tax on agricultural income is a malicious attempt to ruin the already struggling agricultural sector.

“Due to rising costs of agricultural inputs, counterfeit pesticides, and multiple taxes, agriculture has already become a loss-making sector. Many farmers are abandoning farming and migrating to cities of the country and abroad for labour work,” he said.

He added that countries worldwide provided billions of dollars in subsidies to their agricultural sectors and had exempted agricultural income from all taxes.

He said these nations supported agriculture to ensure food security, but Pakistan was the only country that had ignored this crucial issue. “Despite being an agriculturally rich country, Pakistan is forced to import billions of dollars worth of wheat due to its flawed policies, putting immense pressure on foreign reserves,” the farmers elaborated.

They vowed to strongly resist this unjust and anti-farmers tax.

To prevent the implementation of this oppressive tax, the farmers said that they would hold detailed meetings with members of national and provincial assemblies, KP governor and the chairpersons of agricultural standing committees to seek their support. They said all farmers’ organizations would be united on a single platform and launch a comprehensive campaign against this injustice.