Political parties in Upper Dir reject Customs Act imposition

DIR: The leadership of all political parties in Upper Dir on Friday opposed the imposition of the Customs Act in Malakand division and warned of serious consequences if the decision was not withdrawn immediately.

The opposition to the extension of the Customs Act in Malakand division came at an all parties conference, which was attended by the representatives of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

Senior Minister Inayatullah Khan, former federal minister Najmuddin Khan, JI parliamentary leader in the National Assembly Sahibzada Tariqullah, District Nazim Sahibzada Fasihullah, Tehsil Nazims Mir Makhazuddin, Jahan Alam, former MPA Anwar Khan of PPP, Nisar Wardag of PML-N, Sultan Yousaf Bacha of QWP and Farhad Ali of PTI attended the moot.

Speaking on the occasion, they claimed that the act was a violation of an agreement reached at the time of merger of Dir, Swat and Chitral states into Pakistan in 1969.

Inayatullah Khan said that no taxes could be imposed in Malakand under that pact.

He said neither the provincial assembly nor the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had approved the enforcement of the Customs Act in Malakand.

He said the summary was sent to the president by former governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmad Khan.

He said the people of the Malakand had never accepted the imposition of taxes in the past.

Najmuddin Khan said the parliament and the provincial assembly had no jurisdiction in the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (Pata) under Article 247 of the Constitution.

He said if the government should be ready for consequences if didn’t withdraw the Customs Act.

Tariqullah said the government should not provoke the people to resort to violence and take up the decision. “Don’t compel us to take law into our hands,” he warned.

A former MPA Anwar Khan said the people of Malakand fought terrorists and defended the country’s border with Afghanistan.  He said that Malakand was underdeveloped and all of its districts lacked basic facilities.