BARA: Office-bearers of the Anjuman-e-Tajiran Bara on Thursday urged the federal government to grant the merged tribal districts another 10-year exemption from all taxes.
Speaking at a press conference, Anjuman-e-Tajiran Bara president Said Ayaz Wazir, vice-president Azeem Khan and other office-bearers said the people of the merged districts were still struggling to recover from years of conflict, displacement and economic devastation.
They said the tribal districts had suffered massive losses over the past 25 years due to militancy, military operations, prolonged displacement and economic decline.The speakers maintained that businesses had collapsed, homes had been destroyed and the local economy had been pushed into a critical state.
“A large number of families are struggling to meet even their basic needs, with many unable to provide even two meals a day for their children,” Said Ayaz Wazir said.He said that imposing taxes on the people of the merged districts under such circumstances would place an unbearable burden on an already impoverished population. Said Ayaz Wazir said traders in the merged districts had already suffered when their markets and bazaars were shut down during the peak of militancy.
“We expected the federal government to compensate the deserving traders of the erstwhile Fata, but instead it is trying to impose taxes on the affected tribal people,” he said. The traders’ representatives appealed to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari to extend the tax exemption for another decade.
They said the relief was essential to enable the people of the merged districts to rebuild their livelihoods and revive the local economy.The trade leaders warned that they would launch a protest movement across the merged tribal districts if the government failed to address their demand.
