Directorate General of Trade Organisations (DGTO) has directed Secretary General of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) to revise the chamber's elections schedule of 2016-17 within three days and submit it to Regulator of Trade Organisations (RTO). The DGTO issued this directive on the complaint of some of members of KCCI against the decision of election committee of the chamber to reject their nomination papers.
The DGTO in a letter to the chamber noted the chamber had not provided election schedule to DGTO and the election schedule updated on KCCI website was not in accordance with the rules. On the other hands, Chairman Businessmen Group (BMG) and former President KCCI Saraj Kasim Teli claimed that the DGTO had not issued any such directives which point fingers at KCCI's election schedule and neither they carried out any illegal activity.
He said the DGTO only directed the chamber to update election schedule on KCCI website which has not been done earlier. He said that contesting election was the right of every member of the chamber. However, the nomination papers were rejected on different grounds including difference in signature etc. But Chairman Sindh Tajir Ithad Jameel Ahmed Paracha and General Secretary Ismail Lalpuria claimed the DTGO declared the KCCI elections null and vide on the appeal against the rejection of 35 nomination papers.
They said that the government of Pakistan and DGTO should make the KCCI elections transparent. It is worth mentioning that on August 2 all the 15 candidates of the BMG were declared elected unopposed as members of managing committee of KCCI for two years. The Election Committee of the chamber had received 61 nomination papers, against 15 vacant seats of the managing committee till last date out of them 34 were rejected on different grounds and 12 withdrew their nomination papers.