Unrest and Repeated Burning of Vehicles on Highways Force Investors to Leave Balochistan; Government Fails to Provide a Favourable Environment, Transporters and Traders Face Severe Risks: Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party
Quetta (Daily Qudrat Quetta): Central secretary general of the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party Abdul Rahim Ziaratwal, Nawab Ayaz Khan Jogezai, Abdul Qahar Khan Wadan and other leaders have said that the party stands shoulder to shoulder with people linked to industry, trade and transport in Balochistan in every difficult time. They said doing business in Balochistan has become a major challenge under present conditions, while the law-and-order situation has severely affected business activity.
They expressed these views while congratulating the newly elected office-bearers of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Quetta, Balochistan. The party leaders offered good wishes to newly elected president Ahmed Gul Kakar, senior vice-president Mirza Khan Khalji, vice-president Jangian Dashti and other office-bearers, and expressed the hope that they would play a full role in resolving the problems facing Balochistan’s business community and in promoting business activity.
Leaders of the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party said the business community is the backbone of the economy of any country, state and province. Economic activity is difficult to promote without a favourable environment for traders, industrialists and transporters, so the government, political parties and relevant institutions must make joint efforts to resolve the problems of the business class.
On the occasion, newly elected president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Quetta, Balochistan, Ahmed Gul Kakar, and senior vice-president Mirza Khan Khalji said the expression of confidence by the province’s business community in difficult circumstances was encouraging, and that they would make every effort to live up to that trust.
Ahmed Gul Kakar said Balochistan’s business community currently faces several difficulties, including the law-and-order situation, obstacles to the movement of goods vehicles on highways, and security problems confronting transporters. He said incidents of setting goods vehicles ablaze on highways and attacks on their owners and drivers had affected business activity and investment.
He said that because of these conditions, some investors were preferring to do business in other provinces rather than Balochistan, which was affecting the province’s economy and commercial activity. The traders’ leader said political parties and the government must play their role in resolving the problems of the business community.
Ahmed Gul Kakar said the chamber’s newly elected leadership would contact the relevant authorities to secure facilities for the business community, and that the problems of traders, industrialists and transporters would be conveyed effectively to the provincial and federal authorities. He said the chamber would act as the voice of the business class and raise these issues on every possible forum so that steps could be taken to revive business activity in Balochistan, promote investment, and remove obstacles facing industry and trade.
Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party leaders Abdul Rahim Ziaratwal, Nawab Ayaz Khan Jogezai, Abdul Qahar Khan Wadan and others again congratulated the newly elected chamber office-bearers and said the party would remain with the business community in every hour of difficulty. They said political and business leadership must work together to resolve the problems of the business class, improve law and order, and promote economic activity in the province.
