Peshawar     -   Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry and district government on Tuesday agreed to form a joint committee to build up a close liaison and make joint efforts to resolve traders’ community issues.

The proposed 12-member body would make joint measures to real glory of the oldest city Peshawar by removing encroachments and illegal structures and beautification, besides resolving issues of traders’ community pertaining to different provincial governments and local administration on priority basis. The agreement was reached in a meeting of SCCI president Hasnain Khurshid and Mayor Peshawar Zuabair Ali during his visit to chamber house.

Before beginning of the meeting, SCCI president Hasnain Khurshid presented a resolution condemning derogatory remarks given by two leaders of ruling Indian Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) about the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him).

He urged the world powers and OIC to take prompt steps for elimination of Islamophobia across the world, especially emphasising the Muslim countries to announce boycott of the Indian products. The resolution was unanimously endorsed by the house, strongly denouncing sacrilegious comments in dignity of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Khurshid while highlighting issues of the traders’ community expressed apprehensions over restoration primitive of octroi system, a tax on various goods brought into a town, encroachments, building of illegal structures, collection of double taxes, harassing traders by district administration and provincial government tax-collection authorities through various taxes, deteriorating law and order situations, incidents of robberies, kidnapping for ransom, protest demonstrations on Grand Trunk (GT) Road, especially outside provincial assembly and growing traffic issues.

SCCI chief urged the Mayor Peshawar to take pragmatic steps for prompt resolution of the traders’ issues.

Mayor Peshawar Zubair Ali took notice of the traders’ community issues and assured the participants to take every possible step for amicable resolve of all those problems on priority.

In this regard, he proposed formation of a 12-member committee to build up a concrete liaison and take joint steps and rise up issues of traders’ community.

Mayor Peshawar said he knew about the issues of traders’ community. However, he stressed the need to build a concrete liaison between the district government and the business community to hold regular meetings on monthly basis.