MALAKAND (Kashmir English): The Malakand Division business community has announced the closure of the Chakdara Motorway to all traffic on October 7 to protest the imposition of various taxes and to demand the restoration of the division’s constitutional and legal status.
A key meeting of the Malakand Division Business Community Organizing Committee was held at Miral Hotel, Chakdara, presided over by President Abdul Rahim.
The meeting was attended by Swat Traders Federation General Secretary Dr. Khalid Mahmood Khalid and other business leaders. Addressing the meeting, Dr. Khalid Mahmood Khalid stated that a vigorous struggle would be waged to restore the constitutional and legal status of Malakand Division and to oppose the various taxes imposed on the public.
He noted that, in addition to taxes amounting to thousands of rupees in electricity and Sui gas bills, various levies including property tax, income tax, customs duty, and General Sales Tax (GST) have been imposed on the people of Malakand Division effective June 30, 2026.
According to the business leader, the imposition of such taxes on the people of a region that is conflict-ridden, underdeveloped, impoverished, and flood-affected is unacceptable.
The meeting appealed to civil society, lawyers, the journalist community, private schools and hospitals, the labor force, and all political parties, including provincial leaders, district presidents, and activists, to participate fully in the protest movement.
It was decided at the meeting that the Chakdara Motorway would be closed to all traffic on Wednesday, October 7. Trader leaders appealed to the public to unite and participate in full force in the protest sit-in to secure their rights and restore the constitutional and legal status of the Malakand Division.
