LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has announced a nationwide strike on July 19 against Section 37AA of the Income Tax Ordinance, punitive taxes on bank transactions and Punjab’s proposed labour policy deemed hostile to businesses while other Chambers of the country have assured their full support to the LCCI in this regard.
The announcement was made at a Press Conference at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry. LCCI President Mian Abuzar Shad, Senior Vice President Engineer Khalid Usman, Executive Committee Members Khurram Lodhi, Ahsan Shahid and Amina Randhawa also spoke on the occasion. The representatives of trade and industrial associations were also present.
LCCI President Mian Abuzar Shad warned that these measures would cripple businesses, accelerate unemployment and damage investor confidence. LCCI strongly condemned the extraordinary powers granted to FBR officials, unjust treatment of the business community and policy decisions made without business consultation. The LCCI demanded an immediate withdrawal of these measures and a halt to the economic victimization of the business community.
Mian Abuzar Shad said that the entire business community, including industrial and trade associations across the country, stands with the LCCI. He said that this is not the issue of a single individual or a single city but a matter that affects the livelihoods of over 250 million people in Pakistan. He questioned who would pay outrageous tax on a transaction of Rs200,000 and called such provisions irrational and unacceptable.
The LCCI President highlighted the alarming fact that 21 multinational companies have already ceased their operations in Pakistan due to the hostile business climate. He also criticized the payment of over one trillion rupees to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) without a single unit of electricity production, adding that these decisions are an injustice to industrialists who are the backbone of the national economy.
Referring to Section 37AA, he said that it grants FBR officers extraordinary powers, including the authority to arrest traders, which is unprecedented even at the global level.
Senior Vice President Engineer Khalid Usman said that the government is crossing all red lines drawn by the business community. He warned that if businesses are forced to shutdown due to unjust regulations, the resulting unemployment will destabilize the nation. He said that the chambers across the country, including the Karachi Chamber of Commerce, are fully aligned with the LCCI’s position.
Executive Committee Member Khurram Lodhi demanded that the bureaucrats themselves should be audited. He questioned whether their salaries and perks are justified and whether their assets match their official income. He said it is ironic that public servants have now become rulers and are making decisions that deeply affect the lives of the business community without understanding ground realities.
Aamna Randhawa said that the business community is being harassed. These policies are damaging not only to business owners but especially discouraging for women entrepreneurs. She raised serious concerns over the disconnect between the policymakers and the actual economic ground realities
The LCCI President strongly rejected Section 37AA, calling it a new weapon of oppression against the business community. He said that the recent changes made through the Finance Act 2025 are impractical and harmful to the economy.
He added that the ongoing campaign against the business community appears to be a deliberate move to destroy investor confidence and collapse the already fragile economy. He pointed to multiple unresolved scandals, such as Rs80 billion in solar panel over-invoicing, Rs565 billion in tax refund scams and daily corruption worth Rs4 billion.
He also expressed serious concern over Punjab’s proposed labour policy which spans over 300 pages, includes dangerous clauses such as reducing the employee limit for gratuity obligation from 50 to 20 and allowing immediate arrest of an employer if a worker simply claims verbally that he worked at a facility but did not receive gratuity. The policy proposes imprisonment of up to 14–15 years for such allegations. Mian Abuzar Shad warned that if this policy is approved in its current form, it will force industries to shutdown.
All the participants said that the July 19 strike is not merely a protest; it is a defining moment for the economic future of Pakistan. The Lahore Chamber has taken the lead and the business community across the country is ready to follow.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.