MULTAN: Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) Chairman Chaudhry Waheed Arshad has declared that the nationwide strike and boycott of cotton procurement will continue until the unjust taxes and fixed electricity charges are abolished.
He asserted that government actions are causing significant losses to millions of farmers and that imposing a tax on cottonseed cake will not result in recovery, but instead promote undocumented business activities.
At a press conference attended by key industry leaders, including All Pakistan Oil Mills Association President Muneeb Malik, South Punjab Chambers of Commerce and Industries (Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry) President Mian Rashid Iqbal, Bahawalpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Zulfiqar Ali Maan, Bahawalpur Grain Market President Chaudhry Tayyab Ashiq, Lodhran Commission Agents Association President Tufail Thakur, Chamber of Small Traders and Industries leader Sheikh Ehtesham-ul-Haq, PCGA Vice Chairman Rana Waseem Hanif, and several former chairmen and vice-chairmen of various associations, the consensus was clear: the new taxes and fixed charges are detrimental to the industry.
Waheed Arshad criticized the imposition of taxes in the budget, labeling it as anti-national, anti-farmer, and anti-industry. He argued that the largest cash crop in the country, cotton (referred to as “white gold”), is being targeted through a deliberate conspiracy.
Following wheat, cotton is a crucial crop, and such policies are seen as sabotaging millions of farmers and the national economy while also eliminating employment opportunities.
The imposition of 18% sales tax on cotton, cottonseed, cottonseed oil, oil dirt, and now a 10% sales tax on cottonseed cake was highlighted as an injustice. Muneeb Malik pointed out that seasonal industries, which operate for only three to four months, are being unfairly burdened with fixed electricity charges throughout the year, a policy he termed illogical and out of touch with ground realities. He noted that setting the fixed charges at Rs. 2,000 per kilowatt is a severe injustice to the seasonal industry.
Sheikh Ehtesham-ul-Haq, a central leader of the Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industries, assured that traders and small industry owners and employees across the country stand in full support of the PCGA’s demands and will actively participate in all protests.
Sheikh Fazal Elahi, former president of the Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, emphasized that the excessive new taxes and fixed electricity charges spell doom for the industry. Tufail Thakur, President of the Punjab Commission Agents Association, declared that no new taxes on cotton are acceptable and that their association fully supports the PCGA.
The press conference also saw participation from Central Executive Committee members including Muhammad Saqib Saeed, Sheikh Muhammad Daud, Chaudhry Khalid Bashir, Muhammad Mazhar Shoaib Khan, Ahmed Ali, and Shahid Hanif, with additional members joining via video conferencing.
