The Businessmen Panel, NWFP chapter, launched the election campaign for four vacant seats of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry with pledges to open the doors of the apex trade body of the province to all industrialists, traders, and shopkeepers without any discrimination.
The Businessman Panel on Tuesday night organised a reception in honour of the Sarhad Chamber members and introduced the candidates of the group to the voters.
The reception presided over by Anjuman Tajran President Haji Ghufran Ahmad, and attended by a large number of traders, industrialists, and shopkeepers.
The candidates of Businessman Panel include Nauman Wazir, Malik Niaz Mohammad, Dr Ahmad Saeed, and Khalid Sultan Khawaja, a prominent businessman and ex-chairman of All Pakistan Commercial Exporters Association.
The rival, Senator Ilyas Ahmad Bilour, led the Progressive Businessman Forum (PBF), was likely to field Malik Iftikhar Ahmad Awan, Mohammad Ishaq, Engineer Maqsood Anwar Pervez, and Ahsan Rasheed Gorwara.
The rival group led by former FPCCI vice-president Faiz Rasool Khan, is taking part in the election after a gap of three years. The leaders of the group is attributing their three long boycott of the chamber activities to good gesture of providing unhindered opportunity to the ruling group to implement their agenda regarding serving the business community of the province.
The leaders of the opposition are criticising the performance of the ruling group, which they said had done nothing for the welfare of the business community and rather had established of the monopoly of a particular family in the affairs of the chamber.
The rival group said that Sarhad Chamber was included amongst the seven premier chambers of the country, but the confrontational policies of the ruling group had pushed it to isolation.
They said that due to the anti-businessmen policies of the office-bearers of the chamber has declined the toll of the category of full members of the chamber from 960 to only 363. They are of the view that due to the attitude of the present leadership their supporters had started joining their group.
The opposition is also accusing the ruling group for holding extra-ordinary big receptions to show the strength of its supporters. But, only few voters are turning to their electioneering-related functions.
"The top most agenda of our election manifesto is 'Chamber for All' and bringing visible change in the affairs of the apex trade body of the province," Malik Mehr Elahi, senior leader of the group uttered in his opening remarks of the function. He urged the voters to cast their votes in favour of the candidates of Businessman Panel to bring change in the chamber.
Haji Mohammad Adeel, a noted businessman and local leader of the Businessman Panel, said that their group has no personal vendetta against the ruling group, saying they are opposing them after considering their policies against the interest of the business community.
He said more than 80 percent industrial units in the province either sick or closed and those running the affairs of the chamber had done nothing for the revival of their units.
Haji Adeel, who is also a senior leader of Awami National Party (ANP) and former provincial minister for finance, said that on one hand they had waged a struggle for the ouster of a military dictator and on the other struggling against dictator of the chamber.
He said also alleged that the ruling group in their political vendetta even denying membership of the chamber to the supporters of the opposition group. He said that business community has awakened and would continue their struggle till end of evacuation of the chamber from the occupation of the Qabza group.
Faiz Rasool Khan said the Sarhad Chamber has been pushed towards isolation in business community of the country and urged the voters of the chamber to support their candidates in bringing an end to the growing isolation of the Sarhad Chamber.
He alleged that the ruling group in past pitted traders and industrialists against each other, while the Businessman Panel had once again established harmony and brotherhood among them. He urged the voters to use their ballot in the support of their candidates to play role in the opening of the doors of the Sarhad Chamber for the business community of the province. Others who addressed were included former Sarhad Chamber presidents, Malik Zahid Hussain, Malik Niaz Ahmad Naz, Qaiser Aziz, Khalid Sultan Khawaja, Malik Niaz Mohammad, Fawad Ishaq, Dr Ahmad Saeed, and Nauman Wazir.