Prime Minister, Shaukat Aziz has invited the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) bigwigs on March 26, for taking-up the controversial Trade Organisations Ordinance (TOO) 2006 issue.
Businessmen Panel chairman Tariq Sayeed, co-chairman Iftikhar Ali Malik and PFCCI president Shaikh Tanveer along with his vice presidents will brief the prime minister on the controversy and seek deferment of TOO 2006.
FPCCI managing committee had passed a resolution against the TOO and rejected it as a whole. It approved constitution of a senior leaders committee for taking up the matter at the president and prime minister level and seek its cordial solution.
Talking to Business Recorder Tariq Sayeed on Sunday said the FPCCI managing committee had unanimously rejected the TOO 2006 in its Karachi meeting and FPCCI team would covey concern and gravity of the situation to the prime minister. He deplored that the concerned authorities did not give weightage to the FPCCI views on TOO before its declaration.
Iftikhar Ali Malik said traders were the natural allies of the government as their stakes were the same and they did not want to disrupt the process of the continuity in the policies.
He was of the view that the government should ensure liberal and cordial atmosphere to business community for carrying out their activities for economic progress and prosperity of the country. Iftikhar Ali Malik added that some sources were at work for dividing the traders community and the government for their vested interest but they would not succeed in their vicious plan.
He said it was an era of free economy and laws like TOO sending bad signal to the world that was neither in traders'' nor the government''s interest.
Malik maintained that TOO 2006 was Pakistan specific as any law for tightening the noose against the business community did not exit globally.
The ruling FPCCI leadership is fully aware that some people were behind the TOO move and they want to soar relationship between the government and business community. It does not want to politicise the issue since the country was already in the grip of speculations on some other issues.
The FPCCI leadership will convey the same feelings to the prime minister during the meeting and seek deferment of TOO 2006, till some time when it will be reintroduced with certain amendments.