SWABI: Awami National Party (ANP) leader Ameer Haider Khan Hoti on Monday warned that his party would launch a protest movement if the recently imposed tobacco tax on Swabi growers was not withdrawn.
Addressing a public gathering in Yar Hussain, Swabi, organised to protest the tobacco tax and prolonged electricity load-shedding, he questioned the government’s narrative on terrorism and border security.
He said the government claimed the Pak-Afghan border had been closed to prevent terrorists from entering Pakistan, but asked how militants had reached the mountains of Matta in Swat if the border was effectively sealed.
Hoti said the ANP would stand by Pakistan if the country faced any threat from India or Afghanistan. However, he questioned why terrorists allegedly linked to India were not entering through the Wagah border if India was being blamed for terrorism.
The ANP leader said the closure of border crossings had affected the livelihoods, trade and businesses of the Pakhtuns , while measures harming Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continued unchecked.
He said that if security concerns justified closing one border, the government should adopt a uniform policy for all borders.Referring to recent statements by Federal Minister Amir Muqam and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi during a jirga, Hoti said that if they genuinely opposed the tobacco tax, they should publicly challenge the federal government’s decision.
He urged the provincial leadership of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan People’s Party to withdraw support for their respective parties until the tobacco tax imposed on Swabi and the tax issue concerning Malakand were reversed.
Criticising both the federal and provincial governments, Hoti said that despite the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) remaining in power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for more than a decade, the province continued to face injustice and was being denied its constitutional rights. He alleged that more than Rs100 billion belonging to the province had been surrendered to the Centre.
The ANP leader said that if electricity tariffs were uniform across the country, wheat and flour prices should also be uniform nationwide.He added that whenever Khyber Pakhtunkhwa demanded its due share of natural resources, it was labelled disloyal, while restrictions imposed by other provinces were overlooked.
Hoti said that during the ANP government, Swabi’s share of the Tarbela Dam royalty had been increased from five percent to 10 percent. He demanded details of how much royalty had been paid to Swabi and how much of it had been spent on the welfare of local people.
The ANP leader criticised the Federal Board of Revenue for imposing a tax of Rs390 per kilogram on tobacco without taking market realities into account.“The companies have their own commercial interests, but it is the tobacco growers who have borne the entire burden of these decisions,” he said.
