‘Islamabad costlier city in absence of rent control act’

Islamabad : M. Naveed Malik, Acting President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry said that the local traders had been demanding for promulgation of new rent control act for Islamabad for the last three decades, but still no progress was made to meet this very old demand.

He said the absence of rent control act has made Islamabad the costlier city of Pakistan due to which it was not affordable for a middle class person to live in the federal capital.

He was talking to a delegation of local traders that called on him led by Ajmal Baloch, President, Markazi Anjuman-e-Tijaran and Traders Action Committee Islamabad.

Khalid Chaudhry, Secretary, Traders Action Committee Islamabad, Raja Safeer, Ch. Zafar Gujjar, Shiraz Siddiqui, Tahir Abbasi, Agha Ehtesham Nawaz, Faheem Khan and others were in the delegation.

Speaking at the occasion, Ajmal Baloch, President, Markazi Anjuman-e-Tijaran and Traders Action Committee Islamabad said that due to absence of rent control act, basic rights of traders were being violated. He said the traders were not getting justice in rent disputes as all such decisions were going in favor of owners.

He appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar to take notice of the violation of basic rights of traders and issue orders to the concerned authorities for promulgation of new rent control act in Islamabad. He said if this was not done, doing business in Islamabad would become more difficult. Ajmal Baloch said that an amended bill for a balanced rent control law was presented in the outgoing national assembly, but the same was not passed into law.