MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government has exempted the Bakarwal tribes from tax by any authority during their movement and collecting tax from them will be illegal.
This was stated by Minister for Law, Mian Abdul Waheed in reply to a calling attention notice by former AJK PM Raja Farooq Haider Khan in the House.
The Minister said that government had issued a notification in this regard and that it will be strictly implemented.
“The Local Government Department, Forests, or District Council, whoever is forcibly collecting tax from the Bakarwal tribes during movement, will be illegal and would not be allowed,” Law Minister Mian Abdul Waheed assured the House.
Bakarwals are backbone of economy
He said that Bakarwal tribes are the backbone of the state’s economy and also a part of the culture.
“They move due to severe weather conditions. They have had a special status since the Maharaja era.”
He said the AJK government, in light of the recommendations of the House committee, had issued a notification exempting Bakarwal tribes from all types of taxes.
Raja Farooq Haider Khan, through a calling attention notice, had drawn the attention of the House to the fact that the migration of Bakarwals along with their animals is a routine matter adding there are reports that the Kahori Pul District Council and the Neelum Development Board, in addition to the Forest Department, are forcibly collecting tax from them, which, he said, is tantamount to injustice.
He demanded that the Bakarwal tribes be exempted from all types of taxes and a separate route be designated for their movement.
Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar also informed the House that a committee was formed under his chairmanship during the previous government, which had recommended exemption of the Bakarwal tribes from taxes.
The Local Government Minister informed the House that his department is not collecting any tax from the Bakarwal tribes.
However, he said, there are reports of tax collection by the Forest department and Neelum Development Board, upon which the Speaker directed the Law Minister to summon the Secretary Forests and the Chairman of the Neelum Development Board and inquire about the legal status of the tax collected from the Bakarwal tribes.
