JI ready to hold a massive protest rally against tax imposition

F.P. Report
LOWER DIR: The Jamaat-i-Islami nominated candidate for PK 13 and former MNA Sahibzada Yaqub Khan has said the people of Malakand would never accept the imposition of any tax in the region and they will strongly resist any such move from the government. He was addressing a public gathering at Lajbok as chief guest here on Friday. The former lawmaker said the JI would hold a massive protest rally against the imposition of taxes at Chakdara on July 30 that would be addressed by the party chief Sirajul Haq and other central leaders.
Sahibzada Yaqub said the rulers had mortgaged the country to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by agreeing to its hard conditions for $3 billion loans. He said the JI would hold the current and former rulers accountable for laundering national wealth if it was given the opportunity to rule the country. The JI leader said the country was passing through a difficult situation but the rulers were busy in ending their corruption cases and concealing their ‘looting’ and money laundering. He said the record inflation, unemployment and devaluation of Pakistani currency had broken the back of poor masses. He asked the gathering to participate in the JI proposed protest rally against all kinds of taxes in Malakand division to be held at Chakdara on July 30.
Also on Friday the JI Youth wing Lower Dir chapter organized a motorcycle rally to mobilize its workers and general masses to participate in the July 30 rally at Chakdara. Dozens of motorcyclists led by Malik Sher Bahadar marched on the roads and chanted slogans in favour of their party. The marchers asked the masses to make the JI July 30 rally a success so that the government should be forced to reverse its decision regarding the imposition of taxes in Malakand division.
PML-N joined: Several political activists including Najibullah, Hafeezur Rehman, Daud Khan, Shehzad, Ziaullah, Bakht Baidar, Pervez, Adnan, Farooq, Maaz and others on Friday announced to join the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz during a gathering held at Ouch Gharbi. Engineer Faizullah Khan was chief guest on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion Faizullah Khan welcomed the new entrants and said the party would not leave their families alone. He said the PML-N leader Mian Nawaz Sharif would soon return to Pakistan to lead the election campaign.
Meanwhile the PML-N Lower Dir general secretary advocate Sardar Javed Tajak rejected the establishment of a toll plaza at Chakdara and demanded the government to review its decision. Talking to local journalists at Timergara he said the government should reconstruct the Chakdara Timergara dilapidated road and provide civic facilities to local residents before establishing a toll plaza at Chakdara. He said the PML-N government led by Mian Nawaz Sharif had abolished all taxes in Malakand division when Engineer Ameer Muqam had tendered his resignation in the past. He said the government should take the people into confidence before imposing taxes in the region. He said the region was one of the worst affected areas in the country and the government should facilitate its residents one way or the other.