Islamabad: All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajran President Ajmal Baloch has announced a strong protest against the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) installation of Point of Sale (POS) devices, declaring a sit-in and gherao of the FBR office on December 30. He warned that if traders are stopped from protesting, a countrywide shutter-down strike will be launched.
Addressing a press conference at the National Press Club in Islamabad alongside traders from the federal capital, Ajmal Baloch said that the business community is facing severe difficulties and accused FBR officials of harassing traders. He criticized the government for what he termed poor governance and lack of decision-making capacity, alleging that corruption is widespread from top to bottom.
Ajmal Baloch claimed that shopkeepers are being harassed in markets, with threats of sealing shops, and later being asked to settle matters unofficially. He alleged that traders are being looted by what he described as “white-collar criminals” and said that small businesses are already overburdened.
He further alleged that traders are being blackmailed in areas such as Blue Area under the pretext of legal compliance, questioning whether laws are being made solely to harass shopkeepers. He said that the traders reject the FBR’s POS system and demanded that the policy be withdrawn.
Ajmal Baloch announced that traders will gather at Aabpara Chowk on December 30 for a protest. He warned that if force is used against them, traders across Pakistan will observe a shutter-down strike. He also appealed to authorities not to further burden shopkeepers and to stop using pressure tactics, emphasizing that the business community will continue its protest until their demands are met.
