Islamabad : Pir Adil Shah Gillani, Mayor Islamabad said that he was a public representative and protecting the interests of the public was his key responsibility while the making 300 percent hike in property tax by MCI in one go was not in favour of the citizens of Islamabad. Therefore, he fully endorsed the demand of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICC) for withdrawal of this exorbitant hike in property tax to save citizens from unnecessary problems. He said this while addressing the business community during his visit to Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry. UC Chairmen Sajid Abbasi, Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan and Syed Zaheer Shah also accompanied him at the occasion.
Pir Adil Shah Gillani said that the business community was the main pillar of the economy and facilitating them was important for smooth growth of business activities. He said that he would be completing his term by February 15, 2021, however, he would try his best to address the maximum issues within his capacity in this short term, which were highlighted by the business community. He appreciated the role of the business community during Covid-19 pandemic for providing relief to the needy people and said that ICCI has always taken an active part to support people in times of need, which was laudable. He said that Director Municipal Administrator would be asked to remain in touch with ICCI to resolve the major issues of the business community.
Speaking at the occasion, Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) said that ICCI and MCI were working for common objectives to develop a better infrastructure for business activities and beautification of the city, therefore, both should work jointly to achieve common goals more effectively. He said that encroachments from markets should be removed in collaboration with concerned market associations. He said that Citizens Club should be revived in cooperation with ICCI for the benefit of citizens including the business community.
Fatma Azim Senior Vice President and Abdul Rehman Khan Vice President ICCI thanked the Mayor Islamabad for visiting ICCI and said that MCI should address the issues of industrial areas of Islamabad including repair of roads, improving water, sewerage and sanitation systems.
Mian Akram Farid, Chairman Founder Group said that the role of Mayor was very important in city development and addressing issues of citizens. He said that Mayor Islamabad should visit markets and industrial areas to get first-hand knowledge of issues of the business community. He assured that the business community would support MCI in its efforts for beautification of the city and make it a role model city for the country.
The representative of various market associations from Blue Area, Jinnah Super, F-10 Markaz, G-9 Markaz, PWD and other markets including Tahir Abbasi, Nasir Qureshi, Abdul Rehman Siddiqui, Ch. Muhammad Ali, Irfan Chaudhry, Saeed Khan, Akhundzada Naeem, Mehboob Ahmed Khan, Zulqarnain Abbasi, Khalid Chaudhry and Naveed Malik highlighted various issues of traders for redress. They said that parking issues in markets should be addressed by renovating green belts as parking areas. They said that hawkers and mobile stalls should be banned in markets as they were affecting the business of traders in markets. They said that the Melody Food Part should be revived.