The President of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Tanveer Ahmed Shaikh, has termed as 'illogical' the stance of the government to introduce the new trade law to weed out fake and bogus trade bodies.
Besides, chairman of the FPCCI standing committee on Trade Organisations Ordinance, Tariq Sayeed, while talking to newsmen stated here :"This is strange, as there is no logic in the government's version in this regard."
"I am convinced," Tanveer said, "that the only purpose of making the new trade law is to remove chambers of commerce & industry and associations functioning in the small cities from the scene."
The bogey of fake and bogus trade bodies, he said, had recently been raised by certain individuals, who lost the elections of FPCCI for two consecutive terms, and wanted to make a backdoor entry to it. "It appears that the government has also been misled in this regard," he added. He told media persons that he had accepted an offer of holding a dialogue by Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar and hoped that, after it, all irritants in the law and rules could be removed.
He recalled that a meeting of managing committee and representatives of chambers and associations from all over the country held on March 24, 2007 in Karachi had adopted a resolution to reject the new trade laws, and appealed to PM to intervene.
Subsequently, a delegation of FPCCI met the PM, on March 26, and he was apprised of the serious concerns of the business community of the country regarding the harsh and over-regulated clauses in the Ordinance which are not acceptable to the business community, in the present form, as they are contradictory to the government's own policies of de-regulation and liberalisation. Tanveer said the PM had also invited the entire managing committee of FPCCI to meet him immediately following his return from abroad on April 6 in Islamabad to deliberate on the proposed amendments.
Referring to statement of the Commerce Minister that since the Ordinance had been promulgated he could not do anything, he said that when the constitution of Pakistan could be changed, which has been changed to meet the requirements, there was no reason why amendments could not be made in the Trade Organisations Ordinance 2006 for the satisfaction of the business community.