ANP opposes imposition of taxes in Malakand division

MINGORA: The Awami National Party (ANP), Swat chapter, has rejected the possible imposition of taxes in Swat district and Malakand division and has announced strong resistance against it.

Addressing a press conference at the Swat Press Club on Wednesday, ANP Swat president Ayub Khan Asharay stated that instead of providing relief to the people of Malakand division, the government is attempting to take away existing facilities, which reflects the ill will of the caretaker government.

He said that they would thwart any attempts to force tax imposition. ANP local leaders, including Jafar Shah, Khawaja Khan, Zia Nasir, Nawab Alam, Sajid Iqbal, Fazl Akbar, Zaheen Khan, Mumtaz Ali Khan, Naeem Khan, Muhammad Nisar Khan, Inayatur Rehman, and others, were also present on the occasion.

They stated that the federal and provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would not succeed in imposing customs and taxes in Malakand division.

“Non-custom-paid (NCP) vehicles are brought from the Chaman district of Balochistan, where any vehicle that reaches Swat travels for more than a thousand kilometres and crosses more than 50 checkpoints. I urge the government to take action against the security officials involved in smuggling and trafficking, rather than targeting Swatis,” Ayub Asharai said.

He added that the region had already been hit by militancy, floods, and earthquakes, and instead of imposing taxes, relief and aid should be provided to the local inhabitants.

Former member of the provincial assembly and ANP leader, Syed Jafar Shah, said that the government should have engaged with the locals before making the decision on customs and taxes.

“We will resist and will not accept any one-sided decision imposed by the government. We also demand the right of royalty for the minerals, water, and forest resources being transferred to other parts of the country,” he said.

He added that Swat had been a tax-free zone for decades as a result of a treaty signed between the last ruler of the then princely Swat state and the federation of Pakistan.The ANP leaders urged the locals not to register their unregistered vehicles with the excise department.