In limbo: Government yet to compensate 14 Qissa Khwani traders

PESHAWAR:

Although a year has passed since a car bomb ripped through Qissa Khwani and damaged some 54 shops, 14 traders are yet to receive compensation from the government.

According to Qissa Khwani Traders Association Vice-president Amjad Iqbal Qureshi, 14 traders affected by the blast have not been paid yet.

“The provincial government had announced Rs28.5 million and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) had announced Rs10.5 million for the affected traders,” Qureshi told The Express Tribune.

Qureshi added compensation disbursement has been affected because of a conflict between the provincial industries secretary and the director of SMEDA.

He further said a committee of the traders’ union had met Industries Secretary Muhammad Ali Shah and he had confirmed the differences with SMEDA.

On the other hand, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KPCCI) President Zahidullah Shinwari claimed the industries secretary is the one who is creating issues in compensation distribution. “When SMEDA released its second instalment, the secretary issued a notification to the chief minister to stop the grant,” said Shinwari.

He added for the past six months the remaining traders have not been paid even though they have repeatedly requested the government to release it.

However, criticising the KPCCI, a senior trader said SMEDA had earlier disbursed a grant under the Economic Revitalisation Project but KPCCI got involved with SMEDA in the distribution for point-scoring.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 29^th, 2014.