ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) President Khalid Iqbal Malik said that a draft bill of a balanced rent control act for Islamabad was prepared in consultation with all stakeholders and presented in the National Assembly by Mian Abdul Manan, MNA long time ago, but it was still lying pending with a Standing Committee of NA while the rent disputes of traders in the federal capital were on the rise due to which business activities were suffering. He stressed upon the government to arrange early passage of said draft bill from the parliament into law to save traders from further trouble. He was talking to a delegation of Traders Welfare Association, Jinnah Super, Islamabad that visited ICCI led by its President Qazi Muhammad Ilayas to congratulate new office bearers of the Chamber.
Khalid Iqbal Malik said that old transformers in markets were tripping off frequently due to which power supply to shopkeepers remained suspended for days. He urged that IESCO should replace old transformers of markets with new ones to ease the problems of traders. He said SNGPL had dug up footpaths and green areas in Jinnah Super for laying gas pipes, but unfortunately dug up places have not been repaired as yet causing problems for traders and customers. He asked SNGPL authorities to pay urgent attention to this issue. He assured the TWA Jinnah Super that ICCI would cooperate in resolving key issues of their market.
Speaking at the occasion, Qazi Muhammad Ilyas, President and Abdul Rehman Siddiqui, General Secretary of Traders Welfare Association, Jinnah Super highlighted the key issues of their market. They said absence of a balanced rent law in Islamabad was a serious issue due to which rent disputes of traders were on the rise and many of them were receiving notices for vacation of shops. They stressed that ICCI should play its role for early promulgation of a rent law in the federal capital that will help in resolving rent disputes amicably.
They said 15 years old transformers in Jinnah Super were developing frequent faults and IESCO was demanding advance payment from shopkeepers for their repair. Due to this procedure, power supply remained suspended for days plunging the market into darkness. They said most of the street lights in Jinnah Super were not working while condition of footpaths and sanitation was also quite unsatisfactory. They called upon CDA to pay priority attention to these issues.
Khalid Malik Senior Vice President, Tahir Ayub Vice President ICCI, Khalid Javed Chairman Founder Group, Zubair Ahmed Malik, Ahmed Mughal, Mian Akram Farid. M. Ejaz Abbasi, Nasir Qureshi, Markazi Anjuman-e-Tijran Pakistan President Ajmal Baloch, and others also spoke at the occasion.
