Shamsul-Amin Pirzada
LANDIKOTAL: Transporters and residents Saturday staged a protest demonstration in the Takia area of Landikotal against tax collection on the recently installed toll plaza on Peshawar-Torkham road in Kata Koshta in tehsil Jamrud.
The protests were holding placards inscribed with slogans against tax collection on a toll plaza installed on the Peshawar-Torkham road some three months ago. They placed stones on the Pak-Afghan road and blocked traffic for four hours.
Shakir Afridi who led the protest said that National Highway Authority(NHA) violated the decision of the government as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet had approved a five-year break for the merged tribal areas.
The protesters were of the view that they would not stop their struggle against the tax collection on the toll plaza.
They stressed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government should keep its word and take notice of tax collection on the mentioned toll plaza.
When contacted the toll plaza operations manager Sarfaraz said that after a legal procedure they resumed tax collection. After legal permission from the court, NHA, and the Khyber district commissioner they operationalized the toll plaza collecting rupees 200 tax from each Afghan transit vehicle.
District administration resumed traffic after taking 24 hours’ time and assured the protesters of conveying their demands to the high-ups.
A transporter who backs the tax collection on the toll plaza requested anonymity and told The News that this was a kind of war for interests. He revealed that nearly rupees 16000 were being taken from each truck on different check posts between Peshawar to Torkham illegally but unfortunately, no one dares to block the road in protest against the extortion.
