Fazl, Achakzai created hurdles to Fata bill: Qureshi

MULTAN: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf vice-chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi Friday said JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Pakhtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai were the prime hurdle in the merger of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Talking to media men at the airport here, he said the National Assembly had done a historic job and buried hundreds years old FCR law. The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N was hectically engaged in reconciliation with its partners, including Jamiat Ulema Islam-F and Pakhtoonkhawa Milli Awami Party but both the parties opposed the merger, he added.

He said the number of 228 votes were required for making consensus on Fata. The National Assembly speaker sent a chit to him, saying the bill is hard to pass because MQM was not taking part in the voting on Fata bill, he said. “I approached and wooed them. Later, MQM lawmakers cast their votes in favour of the bill. I thanked them for taking part in the voting process,” he added. Qureshi said the entire Fata was in protest against the black law of the English rulers. The people of Fata would be given representation right in the province and the centre. The PTI would bring an effective political system in Fata, including education and health services. Now peace would prevail in Fata, he remarked.

To a query, he said the party had principally decided creation of south Punjab province. The Janoobi Punjab Sooba Mahaz was not a registered party, so the PTI had assured them to back creation of the south Punjab province. The PTI has foiled the filler of PML-N for the creation of Bahawalpur province after the Nawab of Bahawalpur had joined the PTI, he added.

The PTI leaders said, “Our party will introduce revolutionary measures in the south Punjab province. If the province is created then it would have representation in the Senate. The PTI vision will make the south Punjab province a key pillar in agriculture development.” He foresees two major revolutions in the coming days. He appealed to the masses to vote for PTI on maximum slots so that it may form the government to serve the people in a better way.

Rs8.9m tax recovered from businessman: The Regional Tax Office Multan (RTO) has recovered Rs 8.9 million as default or tax arrears from the bank account of a businessman.

According to official sources, Customs Intelligence and Investigations Department detected around Rs 10 million tax default on the part of a businessman and sent the case to chief commissioner Inland Revenue Multan after an inquiry for further action.

After giving a hearing to the businessman and meeting all legal requirements, the chief commissioner sent the case to additional commissioner Income Tax for recovery. A team of RTO Multan led by assistant commissioner inland revenue reached the bank concerned and transferred Rs 8.9 million from his bank account to the government account.