FAISALABAD City News

Strike against sales tax issue fails in Faisalabad
From Our Correspondent
FAISALABAD3: The strike call by All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association (APTPMA) and the FCCI against the RTO on sales tax issue completely fizzled out as all the main bazaars and markets in Faisalabad remained open for the whole day on Wednesday.
In fact, even the members of the two bodies paid no attention to the joint strike call. This is perhaps the first time in the history of Faisalabad that a strike call by two leading textile and business associations failed miserably as the Anjuman-e-Tajran, traders’ representative body, did not respond positively. Earlier, Anjuman-e-Tajran President Abdur Razzaq Sikka and General Secretary Muhammad Alam Jatt had strongly opposed the strike call and directed the members (majority of them business magnates) of the eight main bazaars surrounding the Clock Tower to ignore the unwarranted strike against the sales tax and some officials’ behaviour in the Faisalabad Regional Tax Office.
Although the APTPMA had displayed black banners on all the main roads in huge quantity yet these could not attract the business community which gave a ‘cold shoulder’ to the APTPMA and FCCI leaders.
Rana Tajamal Abbas, president of Anjuman-e-Tajran Federation, and thousands of its members also rejected the strike call against Section 40-B of the Sales Tax Act as the decision had been taking them into confidence. However, the traders opposing the imposition of Section 40-B have announced that they would take out protest rallies against the official move.

No salt, no chemical industry, fears FPCCI
From Our Correspondent
FAISALABAD: The FPCCI (Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry) on Wednesday warned that thousands of workers would lose their jobs if chemical industry in Punjab was closed down due to non-availability of salt - basic raw material for the industry.
In a appeal to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, FPCCI President Mian Muhammad Idrees said the chemical industry in Punjab was on the verge of closure adding that if immediate steps were not taken to restore salt supply then the chemical industry would be totally closed rendering thousands of workers jobless.
According to Idrees, after the tragic incidence of Army Public School Peshawar, the licences issued to various explosive factories were cancelled. As a result of the step, the supply of explosives for mining and mineral exploration organisations was also stopped.
He said the PMDC had stopped the supply of salt which was one of the basic raw materials for the chemical industry and the trickling effects were being experienced by the textile, soap, paper, ghee, power plants and water treatment plants as well.
He demanded immediate restoration of salt supply to save chemical industry from total collapse and said the government institutions should intervene and issue NOC for salt supply to the chemical industry on a priority basis to avoid massive closure and joblessness in the province.

RAW backing terrorists in Pakistan: JuD
From Our Correspondent
FAISALABAD: After failing in suppressing the separation and independence movement in Held Kashmir, India was now supporting terrorists to create trouble in Pakistan through RAW, said Fayyaz Ahmad, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) leader.
Addressing a gathering of district and tehsil chiefs the JuD at Markaz-e-Khyber, Nishatabad, he asked the government to crush the elements busy in disruptive activities in the country.