While the 2006 Trade Organisations Ordinance (TOO) was promulgated in December 2006, the 2007 Trade Organisations Rules (TOR), subsequently announced to ensure its implementation, appear to have been hanging in balance.
The entire schedule of registration and grant of licenses to trade bodies and FPCCI elections has gone topsy-turvy due to severe opposition and sharp differences among the two warring groups, Progressive Businessmen Forum (PBF) and Businessmen Panel (BP) on the rules.
Things appear to be moving at snails pace in the Ministry of Commerce in resolving the issue of amendments in TOO and TOR. The only move made so far was an announcement on May 16 by the Ministry of Commerce, announcing that the last date for the receipt of applications for the grant of licenses to the existing trade organisations (whose licenses were revoked on promulgation of TOO-2006) has been extended up to June 15, 2007.
The letter received by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) in this regard has been circulated among member trade bodies to enable them file their applications for issuance of licenses by June 15.
Although a four-member delegation led by FPCCI President Tanveer Ahmed, after its meeting in Islamabad last week with the Prime Minister, had announced that majority of their demands relating to amendments to TOR had been accepted by the Prime Minister, no official announcement had been made to-date.
The government seems under pressure on this issue because some of the Chambers including Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), which is the premier Chamber, holds diametrically opposite views on the issue then what has been brought to the notice of the Prime Minister.
Some of the amendments reportedly accepted by the Prime Minister were criticised by the KCCI. Their main stand being that the Prime Minister had not interacted with the leadership of Karachi, Lahore, Sarhad and Quetta Chambers who represent 95 percent of the countries trade and industry. Further the decisions, which were reportedly taken, negate everything required to bring about a fundamental change in the working of FPCCI and to rid it of dormant, fake and dummy trade bodies.
FPCCI, however, came out with rebuttal on Wednesday saying that the agreement on TOO-2006 between the FPCCI and the government was a judicious decision by the Prime Minister.
Members of the business community are in a state of flux and are working on day to day basis in the absence of a permanent verdict on the future of their final setup. They hope that the government would come out soon to end this state of uncertainty, which is badly affecting their working.