No electricity and no rights, Gilgit-Baltistan’s people protest Pakistan’s new tax law
In Pakistan, the adoption of a new taxation law by the legislative assembly has fueled public dissatisfaction in several parts of Gilgit-Baltistan
In the midst of the humanitarian crisis in Pakistan, the adoption of a new taxation law by the legislative assembly has fueled public dissatisfaction in several parts of Gilgit-Baltistan, where the general public has already been suffering from a prolonged electricity shortage.
The demonstrators on Friday claimed that the “Gilgit-Baltistan Revenue Authority Bill 2022” has introduced new taxes to 135 different commodities, as per a report from the Dawn.
Syed Mehdi Shah, the Governor of Gilgit-Baltistan, vetoed the law in September after it was originally approved by the Assembly in August 2022. According to the Dawn report, Mehdi Shah declined to sign the legislation and sent it back to the Assembly for consideration. The bill was reportedly reintroduced in the Assembly and was recently approved for the second time, thereby making it into law.
Protest emerged as tax law was approved
In addition to this, following the appeal of the Gilgit-Baltistan trading body and hotel association, shops in a number of regions continued to be closed, and there was also little traffic on the roadways.
In the Hunza neighbourhood of Nasirabad, citizens staged a protest along the Karakoram Highway while holding signs and yelling anti-tax chants.
According to Masoodur Rehman, the central traders’ body president of Gilgit-Baltistan, the demonstration was in opposition to the implementation of additional taxes on the citizens of the province. Rehman claimed, “The imposition of taxes on 135 items will affect the poor people.” The head of the trade group pointed out that more than 100 commodities had taxes put on them and said that the prolonged electricity shortage in the area had already caused individuals to incur losses.
Rehman said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s administration had been enforcing taxes on the Gilgit Baltistan citizens under various identities while denying them access to their fundamental rights. He said, “This is a token protest, if the government doesn’t reverse the Bill, the next course of action will be more aggressive.”
Meanwhile, in the month of May, a significant electricity shortage of 6,500 megawatts (MW) and extended periods of load shedding lasting up to 12 hours affected Pakistan. Ary News reported that despite a 26,000-megawatt demand, the nation’s electricity supply remained at 19,500 megawatts. According to the report, there were also power outages in rural sections of the nation that lasted up to 12 hours.
The reports added, a number of Pakistani power plants have shut down as a consequence of fuel scarcity and other technical difficulties, leading to a lack of electricity and power outages. A few power stations received capacity payments after being shut down.
(Image: AP/ Facebook-Shehbaz Sharif)
