KARACHI: The old city trade associations on Thursday announced their support for August 28 strike and resented the government's unfavourable economic policies as "anti-traders and anti-public".

The trade leaders not only rejected the "so-called" trader-friendly tax scheme but also vowed to continue their struggle for a fair and viable taxation regime and an end to the "looting" of national wealth under IPPs contracts.

"In fact, while the government has imposed a monthly Rs60,000 of advance tax on traders, it is the public who will ultimately bear the burden," Mehmood Hamid, President of All Pakistan Small Traders and Cottage Industry, Karachi told the joint press conference.

The government, he blamed, intends to extract billions of rupees from the impoverished public in the name of advance tax, and the traders refuse to become the government's tax collectors.

He said that traders are unable to pay even the electricity bill, let alone rent on time. "Dreaming of extracting 60,000 rupees a month from them is to live in a fool's paradise," he added.

Chairman of the Karachi Motorcycle Dealers Association, Ehsan Gujar, stated that traders from Karachi to Khyber are now united and the grand strike on August 28 will be a referendum on the government’s policies. He further said that they are no longer willing to be looted by IPPs.

Saleem Malik, President of Karachi Sports Market, remarked that traders will no longer accept the looting by IPPs under any circumstances. "The so-called trader-friendly scheme is actually an anti-trader and anti-public scheme," he added.

The dream of collecting a 60,000 rupee monthly tax will never come true, he said and demanded that the government should cease its hostility towards the public and stop providing free petrol, electricity, and gas to the rulers.

Usman Sharif, a leader of the Small Traders, said that the traders have now decided to continue their movement until the oppression ends. Javed Shams, leader of Anjuman-e-Tajiran Sindh, said that the government should understand the public and traders financial problems.

Faisal Ibrahim of Khori Garden Association,

Bilal Memon of Urdu Bazaar, Iqbal Yousuf, a leader of Small Traders Merit Road,

Javed Abdullah, Chairman of Pakistan Confectionery Association also attended the presser held at the Sports Market on M.A. Jinnah Road.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024