Senator Ilyas Bilour distributes cheques among traders affected in the Qissa Khwani bazaar blast. PHOTO: PPI
Nearly 57 traders whose businesses were affected by September 2013’s bomb blast in Qissa Khwani Bazaar were given relief cheques on Monday.
A little over Rs23 million was distributed among the traders at an event organised by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KPCCI). The compensation was provided from the Economic Revitalisation in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (ERKP) programme in consultation with Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA).
On September 29, 2013, a car bomb ripped through the historic Qissa Khwani bazaar killing around 40 people and damaging dozens of shops. In the aftermath of the attack, a special Qissa Khwani Bomb Blast Relief Committee was constituted to compensate traders, headed by former KPCCI president Riaz Arshad and comprising senior traders of the city.
The committee evaluated a number of applications in joint deliberation with SMEDA and selected 57 traders who had lost their businesses in the blast.
Elaborating on the ERKP, SMEDA Country Director Adil Rauf said it was a European Union funded project which aims to revitalise the economy of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and also rehabilitate traders who have lost their businesses in terrorism incidents.
He added the traders selected by the committee were chosen on the basis of merit.
While addressing the participants, KPCCI President Zahidullah Shinwari said the aim of KPCCI was to protect the interests of traders who continue their work despite the prevailing business-unfriendly conditions of the province.
“Providing tax relief and best trading facilities for businessmen regardless of whether they are members of the chamber or not is our first priority,” stated Shinwari.
The president maintained a majority of the traders who received cheques were not members of the KPCCI.
Leader of the Business Forum, Senator Ilyas Bilour also spoke on the occasion and strongly criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led government for its “apathy toward the business community.”
“They were not even willing to come to the event organised to distribute cheques among affected traders,” said Bilour.
The senator further said the KPCCI had managed to secure a three-year relaxation in taxes for K-P from the previous federal government, however, with the arrival of the new government the relaxation was reversed.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 14th, 2014.
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