LAHORE - A delegation of Mall Road Traders Association held a meeting with Punjab Governor Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood to present him compliment for fair support of the ruling party to small traders in the country.
The delegation comprises of Farooq Azad, Abdul Wadood Alvi, Hafiz Asim, Mian Affan, Khawaja Khalid, Tahir Afzal and several other trade leaders. The governor after listening to the traders’ reservations on uncertain law and order situation, directed his staff to hold a conference in this regard at Governor’s House.
He said that the government is willing to give representation to small traders; and this is the reason that the new Trade Ordinance acknowledges their representation. He said that it was because of the government’s willingness that the new Trade Ordinance of 2007 acknowledged the representation of small traders. He also promised to consider several other issues raised by the traders’ delegation, especially poor performance of law enforcement agencies in the province.
The delegation told the meeting that there was a communication gap between the government and the small traders, because there is no representation of them at the federal level. The delegation hoped that new small chambers would be an exemplary body for the rest of the country’s traders associations.
On the occasion, Mall Road Traders Association president and All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran central general secretary Naeem Mir asked that chambers of small traders should be provided a suitable place in buildings of present chambers, as small traders have no funds to build infrastructure immediately.
He argued that small traders have a significant contribution to set up present chambers, as they are paying chambers fee and other expanses for the last many decades, but they never get their due share in the forum of chamber.
In the aftermath of the approval new Trade Organization Bill 2012, the small traders demand their separate office as well as provision of staff’s services in the same buildings of present chambers, he maintained. He also demanded the formation of a separate Federation of Small Traders, on this occasion.