A countrywide shutter-down strike has been called for August 28 by traders and businessmen protesting the skyrocketing costs of doing business, fuelled by unbearable taxes and exorbitantly high electricity and gas tariffs. The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has announced its full support for the strike. Speaking to The Express Tribune, All Karachi Tajir Ittehad Chairman Atiq Mir stressd the need for unity among traders against what he described as a "cruel tax system.
" He criticised the federal budget for imposing new taxes that have driven up the prices of essential commodities and utilities, including pulses, vegetables, medicines, books, utility bills, and transport fares. Mir noted that the resulting record-high inflation has severely impacted both traders and ordinary citizens, reducing purchasing power to unprecedented lows. He argued that while the general population suffers, the elite, including the country's aristocracy and plutocracy, remain largely unaffected.
"Lacklustre sales have been the norm for four consecutive weeks, with shopkeepers sitting idle, waiting for customers," lamented Mir. "Meanwhile, the government continues to focus on taxing traders and the salaried class instead of cutting down the expenses of ministers and the bureaucracy. The electricity bill alone consists of 14 taxesthis is utter injustice.
" Mir voiced full support for the August 28 strike, which was initially announced by Markazi Tanzeem Tajran President Kashif Chaudhr.