LAHORE: The business community has observed complete strike across the country against the imposition of 0.3 per cent withholding tax on all banking transactions.
The All Pakistan Anjuman-i-Tajran (APAT) also announced its future plan to increase protests over the next several weeks after Eidul Azha unless the government withdrew the tax.
APAT General Secretary Naeem Mir, in a press conference, announced another complete shutter down strike on October 7, blocking all national highways and organise a long march on Islamabad to stage a sit-in on the Constitution Avenue in the second phase of the protest.
Mir said that majority of the markets and business centres in all major cities and towns of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and most parts of Sindh, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan remained closed.
“The traders across Pakistan have proved that they are united against the tax under the banner of APAT,” he said.
Markets and business centres remained closed in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Sahiwal, Sialkot, Okara, Vehari, Gujranwala, Wazirabad, Sheikhupura and Gujrat.
