Traders are divided over whether to stage a fresh nationwide strike following a call by a faction of the Anjuman-e-Tajran Pakistan, led by Naeem Mir, for a general strike on August 1 against the 0.3 advance withholding tax on banking transactions of non-filers. Although the All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajran, led by its President Khalid Pervez, has announced a strike on August 5, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Traders Wing Punjab, a pro-government splinter group, has refused to pay heed to both groups.
Pakistan Muslim League Traders Wing Punjab President Muhammad Ali Mian has said the strike ''diplomacy'' is no solution to problems and urged traders to sit at the negotiating table. But President Pervez made it clear on Friday that his faction will go ahead with the strike. "We will have a nationwide shutdown on August 5. Traders have rejected any kind of tax on withdrawing cash from their bank accounts. We altogether reject this kind of tax."