ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): Traders have announced a demonstration and shutdown strike in Islamabad on Thursday, October 8, over expensive electricity, taxes, and administrative measures.
Addressing a press conference, All Pakistan Traders Association leader Ajmal Baloch said the main protest will be held at Aabpara Chowk tomorrow, while shops will remain closed from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm across Islamabad.
“If the demands are not accepted, the protest would be expanded to a complete shutdown strike across the capital,” he threatened. He also warned that traders could march towards the Prime Minister’s House if their concerns remained unresolved.
Demands relief from FBR measures
Ajmal Baloch expressed reservations about the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) system, saying traders should be freed from forced visits to government offices, receiving notices, and alleged harassment.
“There is no proper planning in the country, and the solution to every problem has been made only with a ‘stick’,” he lashed out at the government.
He called for greater transparency within government institutions and a business environment in which traders could pay taxes through digital channels without unnecessary administrative difficulties.
Baloch said traders were willing to pay taxes but demanded that the government first provide basic facilities, including affordable electricity, security, parking and other services.
He proposed a system under which traders could determine their tax liability in advance and pay taxes through their mobile phones.
Criticised govt’s measures over shopper bags
The traders’ leader also criticised measures against the use of plastic shopper bags, saying the government should provide affordable alternatives before enforcing restrictions against shopkeepers.
He said action should first be taken against factories manufacturing prohibited bags and against smuggling and illegal supply networks.
Baloch said traders supported efforts to reduce pollution and protect the environment but argued that ordinary shopkeepers should not be treated as criminals for selling bags.
He called for a clear, uniform and dignified mechanism for implementing environmental regulations and urged the government to take traders into confidence before enforcing new measures.
Ajmal Baloch stressed that the law should be equal for everyone in the country, adding that the practice of taking immediate action against the poor while giving concessions to the influential should end.
Baloch said traders and ordinary citizens were already facing economic difficulties and criticised what he described as an increasing burden of taxes, fines and administrative measures.
“Leave the stick, find a way out,” Baloch said, stressing that traders were willing to cooperate with the government but would not compromise on their livelihoods, businesses and dignity.
He stressed the need for effective measures and strict punishments to eradicate corruption, saying that corruption has caused serious damage to the country’s economy and institutions.
