KP lawmakers threaten protests over taxes in tribal districts and Malakand

PESHAWAR: Lawmakers in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, most of them representing the tribal districts and Malakand division, opposed the federal government’s move to impose taxes on the two regions and warned that they would launch protests if the decision was not reversed.

During a sitting of the provincial assembly on the supplementary budget, chaired by Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, Minister for Housing Dr Amjad Ali of Swat said the federal government had announced taxes for the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Provincially Administered Tribal Areas. He said the matter had not been discussed in the National Economic Council meeting and argued that regions hit by natural disasters and militancy should be given relief instead of being taxed. He also said the move went against the understanding reached when the former Swat State joined Pakistan.

Fazal Hakim, also from Swat and sitting on the treasury benches, said elected representatives would stand up for the rights of their constituents. He warned that once taxes were enforced, industries could move out of the area, leaving thousands without work. Opposition leader Dr Ibadullah of Shangla said a similar proposal had been moved during the tenure of then chief minister Parvez Khattak, but protests by him and his brother, MNA Amir Muqam, had led then prime minister Nawaz Sharif to withdraw it.

PML-N lawmaker Jalal Khan also condemned the taxation plan and said he would ask Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Amir Muqam to seek an exemption for the tribal districts and Malakand division. ANP lawmaker Mohammad Nisar from Bajaur said the federal government had imposed taxes on former Fata and Malakand without honouring its promise to release Rs100 billion annually for the region. He also said the federal government was not paying Rs5,000 billion to the province while the provincial government had agreed to surrender Rs109 billion.

Adviser to the chief minister on industry, commerce and technical education Humayun Khan from Dir said people in Malakand division and the former Fata already paid billions of rupees in indirect taxes. Bajaur MPA Anwarzeb Khan said the people of tribal districts were being treated unfairly and added that the federal government had refused to recognise their share in the NFC. MPA Abdul Ghani from Khyber warned that protests could be staged outside Parliament House in Islamabad.

Assembly exchange over outsider’s entry

Earlier in the sitting, Dr Ibadullah raised strong objections to the entry of an outsider into the assembly hall and told the speaker that the chair was responsible for protecting the dignity and privileges of the house.

Referring to the outsider, identified as the chief minister’s guard, Dr Ibadullah said:“Your chair is required to play role of custodian of the house and to maintain privilege of the house.”

He further said: “I admit my fault. The security stopped him but I allowed him,”

Speaker Babar Saleem Swati apologised after acknowledging that he had permitted the man to enter despite security stopping him.

Separately, JUI-F’s Maulana Lutfur Rehman said a supplementary budget was generally presented in an emergency situation and stressed the need for measures to improve the province’s financial position. He also said the Chashma Lift Canal had not been completed over the past 13 years.

Political leaders and traders in Bajaur also oppose move

In Bajaur, political leaders, parliamentarians and traders also criticised the extension of taxes to the tribal districts and Malakand division and called for the decision to be reviewed immediately. In separate statements, PML-N’s Israruddin Khan, MPAs Dr Hamidur Rehman and Anwar Zeb Khan, Bajaur Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Haji Lali Shah, Khar Traders Association president Wajid Khan, PTI’s Guldad Khan, ANP’s Gul Afzal Khan and former MNA Gul Zafar Khan described the withdrawal of tax exemptions for former Fata and Pata as highly damaging for underdeveloped areas.

They said the tribal districts still lacked basic facilities and remained backward, making the imposition of taxes unacceptable. They argued that the government should first bring these regions at par with settled districts in political, economic and social terms. They urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to withdraw the decision quickly and called on the federal government to first implement the commitments linked to the Sartaj Aziz Commission before levying taxes on residents of the tribal districts.

They also claimed the government did not have the legal authority to impose taxes in the tribal districts before 2028 under the Sartaj Aziz Commission’s recommendations, which they said had paved the way for the merger of the tribal districts with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa through the 25th Amendment in 2018. They warned of a strong public reaction if the decision was not withdrawn.