PESHAWAR: The provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is going to grant legal cover to the business of the thousands of street vendors across the province.
The purpose the provincial government is set to introduce a legislation to protect ‘street economy’ worth Rs.380 billion. The legislation will help formalize and protect the livelihood of the street vendors.
Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi says that the draft of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehsaas Rehribaan (Street Vendors) Livelihood Protection Bill 2025 has been prepared and being forwarded to the provincial cabinet for approval and will subsequently be placed before the provincial Assembly for consideration before it formally becomes a Law.
He said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would become the first province in the country to make the rights of street vendors a permanent and enforceable part of the legal framework. There are more than 140,000 street vendors across the province that will be incorporated into a formal system of state protection under the new law.
The Chief Minister stated that no official, authority or private individual would be permitted to unlawfully seize vending spaces, displace vendors, or exert pressure on their livelihoods. Under the bill, acts of intimidation, coercion, rent seeking, or illegal payments demanded from vendors, whether by government officials, police personnel, or private individuals, will be treated as serious criminal offenses.
He said that one of the core features of the legislation is its emphasis on due process, ensuring that no anti-encroachment action of any kind would be permissible against registered vendors without prior notice, evidence- based justification, and adherence to legal procedure.
In addition to legal safeguards, the bill extends access to microfinance, credit, insurance, and emergency support. These measures will enable street vendors, many of whom operate on narrow margins and lack financial security, to become part of the formal economic system. He said that integrating street vendors into social protection and financial inclusion mechanisms was essential for both economic stability and poverty alleviation.
The Chief Minister stated that the inclusion of vendor representation in all decisions of the Tehsil Vending Committees is another key feature of the proposed law. The government views the legislation as an important milestone for the working class and believes it will lay the foundation for a more organized, stable, and modern street economy across the province.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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