UPPER DIR - A district level all parties’ conference (APC) was held here on Friday at District Assembly Hall on the call of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) against the imposition of Customs Act in Malakand.
The conference was presided over by the JI district chief and District Naib Nazim Hanifullah Khan Advocate while the district level heads of all political parties were present on the occasion.
The prominent among the participants included MNA Sahibzada Tariqullah, Senior Provincial Minister for Local Government Inayatullah Khan, former Federal Minister for Safron Najmuddin Khan of PPP, Farhad Ali Khan of PTI, Said Anwar Khan of ANP, Sultan Yousaf Pacha of QWA, Mohammad Nisar Khan Wardag of PML-N, district Nazim Sahibzada Fasihullah, Tehsil Nazims and elders and district and village council members.
Talking to the participants the political leaders said that Malakand division was the most militancy and flood-hit region in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
They said that the inhabitants of the region are sad over the imposition of Customs Act. The heads of political parties’ said that the Malakand division needs proper attention for development and said that facilities like Peshawar and Lahore are not available here.
They said that they were united against the imposition of Customs Act and would stand side-by-side till the cancellation of this Act.
MNA Sahibzada Tariqullah told The Nation that he held meetings with federal ministers regarding the withdrawal of the Customs Act summary which was forwarded by the KP government.
Senier Provincial Minister for Local Government Inayatullah Khan said that if Customs Act was imposed in Malakand, he along with all elected members of national and provincial assemblies would present their resignations.
Former Federal Minister Najmuddin Khan said that Malakand was the worst affected region owing to floods, militancy, and earthquake and termed the Customs Act as a wrong decision of the government.
Meanwhile the Dir trader’s union president Haji Hakeem told that on July 27, 2016, all the traders in Malakand Division would observe shutter-down strike against the imposition of Customs Act.
The members at all parties conference asked the federal government to immediately withdraw the summary of imposition of Customs Act in Malakand division otherwise they will hold massive protests across the province.
Syed Maaz Jan