Jamaat-e-Islami Khyber Pakhtunkhwa North Ameer and former provincial minister Inayatullah Khan has announced a three-month public contact campaign against the proposed imposition of income tax, sales tax and the Customs Act in Malakand Division.
Addressing a press conference at the Jamaat-e-Islami district office in Mingora, Khan said the campaign, titled “Tax Na Manzoor,” would be launched in every tehsil of the division. He said the party would mobilize traders, lawyers, religious leaders and local communities against the extension of taxes to the region.
Khan said the Finance Bill had already been passed by the National Assembly and claimed that it extended income tax and sales tax to Malakand Division. He alleged that the PTI, PML-N and PPP were equally responsible for the move, saying the parties were part of the wider government and power structure.
Jamaat-e-Islami leaders Muhammad Haleem Bacha, Muhammad Amin, Yousaf Ali Khan, Habibullah Saqib, Naveed Iqbal, Naeemullah and Azmat Khan were also present on the occasion.
Inayatullah Khan criticizes Malakand lawmakers
Khan criticized elected representatives from Malakand Division, saying the region’s 11 members of the National Assembly and 29 members of the provincial assembly had failed to protect public interests.
He said tax exemptions were granted to the former princely states at the time of their accession to Pakistan and argued that underdeveloped regions are generally provided economic concessions to support local communities.
According to Khan, only 10 percent of Malakand Division’s population lives in urban areas, while 90 percent resides in rural localities. He said the literacy rate in the region stood at 47 percent, with around one million children out of school, while multidimensional poverty ranged between 50 and 60 percent.
He described Pakistan’s taxation system as unjust and claimed that taxes collected from poor citizens were being spent on the elite. He also criticized the provincial government’s decision to increase taxes on hotels and other businesses.
JI announces protest plan across Malakand
Announcing the party’s future course of action, Khan said Jamaat-e-Islami would hold protests in markets, mosques, tehsil headquarters, traders’ bodies and bar councils.
He said the party would also identify public representatives who supported the tax extension.
Khan announced full support for the traders’ and industrialists’ protest scheduled for July 5 at Nishat Chowk in Mingora. He said Jamaat-e-Islami would actively participate in the demonstration, while similar protests would be held at district headquarters across Malakand Division on the same day.
He said large protest rallies would be organized at district and tehsil levels. A grand traders’ convention involving around 2,000 traders would also be held this month, along with stakeholder conferences and public referendums.
Khan said Jamaat-e-Islami would continue its struggle until the restoration of Malakand Division’s special constitutional status.
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