The Progressive Businessmen Forum (PBF) and the Businessmen Panel - two rival groups of the business community - are heading for a tough contest in the annual elections of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) scheduled for November 29.
The Sarhad Chamber is holding elections on four full group vacant seats of the executive committee. Both rival groups headed by their respective leaders are running vigorous campaign in favour of their candidates.
PBF leader Senator Ilyas Ahmad Bilour, who has also been the president of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) is running the election campaign of his group, while the Businessmen Forum has been enjoying the monopoly over the affairs of the Sarhad Chamber for the last four years.
The rival group of the Businessmen Panel (BP), whose central leader is Tariq Saeed also a former president of FPCCI, is headed by Faiz Rasool Khan, a former vice president of the apex trade body in the country.
Both groups are holding huge receptions for the business community to woo voters in their favour. Such kind of receptions have become a routine matter and none of the day or night pass without either luncheon or dinner function by any of the groups. These functions usually held at only five-star hotel of the city, Garrison Club or on the green lawn of the Green Hut.
The PBF had fielded Malik Iftikhar Ahmad Awan, Engr. Maqsood Anwar Pervez, Mohammad Ishaq, and Ahsan Rasheed Gorwara as its candidate while candidate of the Businessmen Panel are Khalid Sultan Khawaja, Malik Niaz Mohammad, Dr Ahmad Saeed, and Nauman Wazir, president, Industrialists Association, Peshawar.
The ruling Progressive Businessmen Forum is running the election campaign of its candidates on the basis of its services made for the betterment of the business community in the province, which is under severe attack of the rival group and has unveiled a 16-point manifesto with the attractive slogan "Chamber for All".
The challengers of the ruling group are charging the sitting office-bearers of the chamber for promotion of nepotism and personal likes and dislikes and carrying personal vendetta against the opposition. They are trying to woo the voters through slogans like evacuating Chamber from the Qabza group and monopoly of a particular family.
The ruling group which claiming credit of extending service to the business community of the province in the resolution of their problems is also welcoming the participation of the opposition group in the elections for strengthening the democratic norms at the level of the trade body.
The Progressive Businessmen Forum is enjoying the backing of the erstwhile presidents like Ghulam Sarwar Khan Mohmand, Colonel Syed Khizer Hayat (retd), Ghazanfar Bilour, Sofi Bashir Ahmad and Mohsin Aziz while the opponents are backed by Malik Zahid Hussein, Haji Haleem Jan, Malik Niaz Ahmad Naz, Jamshid Savul, and Akbar Zia.
At present, the PBF is enjoying overwhelming majority on the executive committee of the Chamber. The Sarhad Chamber has 363 members of the full membership category, who will go for vote to elect four members of the executive committee. The polling for the offices of president, senior vice-president would be held on December 10.
This would be last election of the chamber on the prevailing election laws. From the next year, the elections would be held according to Trade Organisation Rules, 2007, under elections for both the executive committee members and the office-bearers would be held at a time and members would directly elect office bearers.
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