Talks with FBR fail: Traders announce protest march on Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: The All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran (APAT) has decided to start a protest march towards Islamabad as talks with Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) have failed.

The process has also been initiated to send notices to tens of thousands of traders for Sales Tax registration.

Ajmal Baloch, president of the APAT, said while talking to this correspondent that traders from the whole country are worried as trade activities have come to a standstill. He said legal imports are being halted, while the same goods are visible in Pakistani markets which are brought through smuggling. He said all the traders of the country will hold strike on October 9.

The APAT central General Secretary Naeem Mir said that traders talks with the FBR on the issues of CNIC condition sales tax registration and fixed tax scheme could not be fruitful and the traders body has called their representatives from all provinces of the country to reach Islamabad on October 9 to finalise strategy regarding another shutdown for redressal of their demands.

He said the deadlock persisted and no new date for next round of talks was decided during the last meeting.

Naeem Mir said that trade body’s representatives from every district and tehsil will come to Islamabad to make a historic gathering against the government illegitimate taxation measures. He said that traders of AJK will march towards Islamabad led by Shaukat Mir while traders delegations from Gilgit Baltistan will reach the capital led by Masudur Rehman.

He said that Malik Shahid Ghafoor, Rauf Mughal, Aslam Bhalli, Javed Butt and Mumtaz Babar will lead the trade delegations from various districts and Tehsils of Punjab. The participants of traders protest will move to Islamabad from districts and Goths of Sindh in the leadership of Qayyum Qureshi, Amin Memon, Haroon Memon, Rahmatullah, Haji Majeed and Javed Qureshi.

Jamil Paracha, Abdul Rehman, Ismail Lalapuria and Salim Memon will bring the traders to Islamabad for the protest while Abdul Rahim Kakar and Allah Dad Tarin will lead the trade delegation of Balochistan. From the KP traders will march towards the capital in the lead of Malik Mehr Ali and Ehsan Baacha.

Naeem Mir said that traders of Islamabad will host the traders from across the country in the leadership of Ajmal Baloch on 9th October to finalise the date of protest and shutter down all over the country.

He said that traders and tax collection body are at loggerheads over imposition of condition of CNIC and it remains key reason of the stalemate. Traders major demand is to lift the condition of CNIC. They also raised issues of sales tax registration. Both FBR and traders also failed to finalise the draft for fixed tax regime.