The withdrawal of Usman Bashir Bilour, a nominee of the Businessmen Forum (BF), from election to the post of vice-president of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) from NWFP, has been denied by the central BF leaders. Senator Ilyas Ahmed Bilour and Mian Habibullah, in a press statement here, said that their main rivals, the Businessmen Panel (BP), had given a wrong impression by propagating the withdrawal of Usman Bilour from the contest.
They said that the election circulars being issued by the FPCCI secretary general have no basis and no authority vests in him to hold the election at his will in collusion with vested interests, while he is facing contempt proceedings before a division bench of the High Court of Sindh.
Faiz Rasool if declared elected unopposed as FPCCI vice-president from NWFP on the strength of tribal area chamber to represent NWFP cannot be taken as legal since the FPCCI secretary general is very much seized of the direction of the Commerce Ministry that tribal area chamber has no mandate to represent NWFP.
The question of participation and withdrawal in the illegal election in pursuance of election schedule issued by a functionary of the FPCCI without any authority has no legal value, they added.
Senator Bilour and Mian Habibullah appealed to the Businessmen Forum members that they should not be misled by the propaganda.
"We will fight the illegal acts as per laws of the land, and shall participate in the elections which are fairly and legally conducted for purging the FPCCI of a hostage vote bank by constituting an impartial tribunal by not accepting the total tampering and forgery in the election of the associations", they said.