Islamabad: Secretary General of Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders and Cottage Industry Jahangir Akhtar on Sunday has said that promulgation of Trade Organisation Act 2012 will trigger massive unrest among traders across country.

Speaking to traders, office bearer of the proposed chamber said that the draft of the Act is full of mistakes and contradictions which is not acceptable. Efforts are underway to get it approved in haste without taking stakeholders into confidence which make it an attempt to safeguard the interests of a mafia calling the shots at FPCCI, he said.

He said that we cannot trust Haji Ghulam Ali, Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Commerce who belongs to group of Tariq Sayeed and Iftikhar Malik, he has recently served as President FPCCI and now his son is Vice President of the FPCCI.

The veteran business leader said that Senator Ilyas Bilour, another member of the Senate committee, has also served as President FPCCI who don’t want separate chamber of small traders.

He called upon the other members of the Senate committee representing PML-N, PPP, MQM and other parties to foil the conspiracy orchestrated by the wealthy industrialists who want to blackmail government and deprive small traders of their voice.

Akhtar said that problems and interests of small traders would never match with those of industrialists. The business chambers have never taken interest in resolution of our problems which lead us to take to streets and use shutter power, he added.

We will take path of negotiations if government allow us to have our own chambers, he said, adding that it will help us to avoid strikes which results in problems to masses and colossal economic losses to the economy.

This law is nothing but to ensure supremacy of FPCCI and an attempt keeping in mind benefits of divide and rule, he said. Why this unilateral move is kept secret without bothering to inform stakeholders if it was so beneficial for the business community, he questioned.