MINGORA: Announcing a shutter-down strike for July 21, traders, political representatives and civil society activists on Saturday urged the federal government to maintain the special constitutional and legal status of Malakand Division and refrain from imposing new taxes in the region.
Speaking at a press conference at the Swat Press Club, leaders of the action committee, formed for the protection of Malakand Division’s special status, said that the people of the region could not bear any additional financial burden due to the prevailing economic hardships.
Malakand Division Traders Federation president Abdul Rahim, flanked by Action Committee members including Swat Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Noor Mohammad Khan, Member of the Provincial Assembly Fazal Hakeem Khan Yousafzai, Wajid Ali Khan, Sher Shah Khan, Sherzada Bahadur Khan, Maulana Syed Qamar, Mohammad Amin, Dr Khalid Mahmood and Yousaf Ali Khan, said the region’s special status must be restored and protected. “We will observe a shutdown strike on July 21 if our demands are not accepted,” he added.
The speakers said that certain decisions taken during the implementation of reforms in the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) had adversely affected the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) status of Malakand Division, paving the way for the introduction of various taxes in the region.
They argued that imposing new taxes on a population already struggling with economic challenges would be unacceptable. According to them, Malakand Division had endured years of terrorism, military operations, floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters, which caused severe damage to businesses, industries, tourism, agriculture and the overall local economy.
The action committee members said that despite the passage of years, the region’s infrastructure, including roads and other basic facilities, had not been fully restored. In such circumstances, they added, the imposition of additional taxes would further worsen public hardships.
They criticised elected representatives for allegedly supporting decisions that increased difficulties for the people instead of focusing on resolving the region’s fundamental issues.
The leaders said that unemployment, prolonged electricity and gas loadshedding, law and order challenges and economic instability had already made life difficult for residents of Malakand Division.
During the press conference, the committee also demanded transparency regarding foreign aid received for the rehabilitation of disaster and conflict-affected people. They called on the government to make public complete details of the funds received and their utilisation, alleging that affected communities had not been provided adequate compensation and relief according to the scale of their losses.
The speakers urged the government to reconsider decisions related to the constitutional status of Malakand Division, saying that such steps were necessary to end growing uncertainty and unrest among the people.
They maintained that peace in Malakand Division had been achieved after immense sacrifices and that future decisions should take into account public sentiments and ground realities.
They announced that a complete shutdown strike would be observed throughout Malakand Division on July 21. During the strike, all commercial centres, markets, business establishments and shops, including vegetable markets, would remain closed.
