PESHAWAR: The local administration in Kurram region has restarted collecting rahdari (import tax) on a range of items despite the ban imposed by the federal government.
Funds were being collected from vehicles at checkpoints even though the government banned the activity since the merger of Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
A June 8, 2018 notification by the chief secretary directed relevant deputy commissioners to end all forms of rahdari and abolish all check posts where it is being collected.
“A compliance report shall be sent to FATA’s additional chief secretary within 48 hours of the receipt of the instructions,” it read further.
The check posts continue to exist and rahdari is still being collected from local traders without providing any receipts. Only in Kurram are authorities providing proper receipts. Businessmen who complained over the issue say they were informed by officials that the authorities are unable to bear the administrative costs as agency welfare funds were no longer being collected.
