RAHIM YAR KHAN-Traders of Rahim Yar Khan seem divided over the call for shutter down strike against new taxes on July 13,2019.
There are two groups - Friends Business Forum (FBF) and Founders Group (FG) in Rahim Yar Khan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RYKCCI). Nowadays, most of the presidents of traders associations and unions under the banner of RYKCCI were elected with the support of FBF which is considered to be backed by the ruling PTI. A meeting of Anjuman Tajran district RYK was held in a flour mills here, wherein its president Asad Ghaffar spoke to the trader leaders and assured that shutter down strike will be successful in all the four tehsils of the district.
He claimed that the government does not want to arrange a table talk with them. He claimed that daily he attends many calls from persons of different agencies and government officers who inquire about the strike.
Another trader leader Chaudhary Boota Tahir said that it is not proper time for the strike call, arguing that strike call would have been beneficial had been given prior or soon after the budget announcement.
He said that if the traders will observe strike willingly it will be successful otherwise forcibly closing businesses would create the law and order situation.
Another trader of Shahi Road Munir Saleem said that Anjuman Tajran RYK is not the real forum of traders because its president was a non elected person. He claimed that there are no elections in Anjuman Tajran for last many years so he expects that the call of strike will fail.
PTI MPA from city Asif Majeed said that he with other PTI parliamentarians will succeed in wooing the traders to withdraw the strike call.
He emphasised that all efforts to stop the strike on July 13, will be made by sensitise the traders to the economic situation of the country.
Chairman FPCCI standing committee on Seed and Agriculture Mian Aamir Shahbaz informed that the strike of traders is not against the government but the IMF and World Bank.
He said that the traders of Pakistan are facing difficulties after announcement of many taxes.