DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Traders in Dera Ismail Khan have rejected proposed increases in rents for shops owned by the Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA), demanding an end to alleged corruption, ghost employees and administrative irregularities before imposing additional financial burdens on businesses.
The demands were raised at a joint meeting of the Central Anjuman-e-Tajran Tajir Ittehad and Traders Action Committee at Tank Adda, where representatives of several commercial markets accused the municipal administration of pressuring shopkeepers through rent notices and auction procedures.
Traders from Shopping Mobile Market, Mobile Plaza Tank Adda, Town Hall Shopping Centre, TMA Plaza, Shangla Market and the mobile market opposite Women’s College attended the meeting.
Addressing the gathering, trade leaders Sohail Azmi, Karim Khan Wazir, Hamid Ali Rehmani, Chaudhry Jameel Ahmed, Haji Khalid Naz, Malik Ashfaq Chughtai, Saeed Akhtar Advocate and Muhammad Asif criticised the TMA’s approach towards shop tenants.
They alleged that the municipal administration was attempting to increase revenue through excessive rent hikes instead of addressing financial mismanagement, political interference and irregularities within the institution.
The speakers demanded action against alleged ghost employees and politically appointed staff members who, they claimed, were drawing salaries without performing their official duties.
They maintained that eliminating such irregularities could help improve municipal finances, strengthen sanitation services and ensure better utilisation of public resources without placing additional pressure on traders.
Trade representatives also opposed repeated rent increases and auction procedures, warning that such measures could push shop rents beyond the financial capacity of existing tenants.
They said businesses in Dera Ismail Khan were already struggling with economic uncertainty, terrorism, lawlessness and incidents of robbery, which had disrupted commercial activity and caused financial losses.
Under these circumstances, the traders argued, the municipal administration should introduce relief measures rather than impose further financial obligations on shopkeepers.
The meeting clarified that TMA shop tenants were willing to pay reasonable rents in accordance with prevailing market rates and legal requirements but would resist increases they considered excessive, unlawful or unjustified.
Other participants included Muhammad Ismail, Khalid, Asad Nizami, Haseebullah, Arshad Baloch, Talha, Muhammad Yaseen, Irfan Betani, Haider Ali, Karim Nawaz, Farukh and Muhammad Nawaz.
The traders urged the district administration and relevant authorities to intervene, establish a transparent mechanism for determining shop rents and introduce administrative and financial reforms within the TMA.
They also called for an investigation into alleged corruption and staffing irregularities, maintaining that improving institutional accountability should take priority over increasing the financial burden on local businesses.