KP govt asks Centre to withdraw Customs Act extension

             

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has signed a summary asking the federal government to withdraw the decision of extension of the Customs Act to Malakand division.

The chief minister also assured the people that he would not allow the imposition of any tax in underdeveloped areas.

Speaking at a news conference at the Peshawar Press Club on Monday, Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Information Mushtaq Ghani, Minister for Finance Muzaffar Said and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Member Provincial Assembly (MPA) Dr Haider Ali said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government would stand by the people of Malakand if the federal government didn’t withdraw the imposition of the Customs Act.

Mushtaq Ghani appealed the political parties to stop politicising the issue, particularly after the assurance of the provincial government and its decision to send a summary by the chief minister urging the federal government to withdraw it.

He said the federal government should not have extended the Customs Act to Malakand division.Mushtaq Ghani recalled that it was not the decision of the provincial government, rather the Apex Committee had proposed the extension of the Customs Act to Malakand division.

“It is the responsibility of the federal government to honour the agreement made with the elders of Malakand division,” he stressed.He said politicising the issue would not be any service to the people.

Mushtaq Ghani recalled that the Provincial Apex Committee during a meeting had raised the issue of the presence of non-custom paid vehicles that are the main source of criminal activities.

“The meeting took the decision to regulate the unregistered vehicles by extending the Customs Act 1969 to the Malakand division,” he reminded.

He pointed out that Malakand division had been exempted from all kind of taxes according to the agreement made with people of the region. “The extension of the Customs Act to Malakand is a violation of the agreement and it should be withdrawn immediately,” he stressed.

Coming down hard on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after the startling revelations made in the Panama leaks, Mushtaq Ghani said the premier should have resigned.

He said the Election Commission of Pakistan should take action against the prime minister for keeping the nation in the dark about his family’s offshore companies.

Mushtaq Ghani said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan would announce the future line of action on the issue on April 24. He said the people were now mature and they couldn’t be fooled any more.

“The PTI workers and supporters would take to the streets under the leadership of Imran Khan to stage protest against those telling lies to the nation,” he added.

He said a meeting of the parliamentary parties leaders’ would be convened to finalise the future course of action if the federal government didn’t accept their demands about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project.