Ajmal Baloch, president of All Pakistan Anjuman Tajiran, announced a mass protest on 30 December against the Federal Board of Revenue’s move to install POS devices, saying traders will gather at Abpara Chowk and will surround the FBR office until their demands are heard. He warned that if authorities use force to stop the demonstration, merchants across the country will launch a shutter down strike.
Speaking at the National Press Club in Islamabad alongside traders from the federal capital, Ajmal Baloch said the business community is facing severe hardships and that FBR staff are persistently harassing shopkeepers in the name of POS devices enforcement. He urged immediate reversal of the policy and demanded an end to what he described as routine extortion tactics.
Ajmal Baloch accused the system of deep-rooted corruption and said the government lacks the will to take decisive action. He argued that without strong punishments for corrupt officials the problem will continue, calling for stricter accountability measures to restore trust in enforcement agencies.
Traders described a pattern where they are told their shop has been sealed and asked to visit the office, only for the matter to be settled informally for amounts often around twenty thousand rupees. Baloch compared the behaviour to robberies and said shopkeepers are being blackmailed rather than dealt with through legal channels.
He also raised concerns about a local deputy commissioner’s warning to deploy the army if traders did not comply, asking authorities not to involve the military in civil administrative disputes. Baloch appealed that the armed forces should not be dragged into matters that add further burden on small shopkeepers already struggling to survive.
Rejecting the FBR’s POS devices rule, Ajmal Baloch said the association will not accept the measure and urged a prompt reversal. He reiterated that traders will assemble at Abpara Chowk on 30 December and if their demands are ignored or met with force, they will escalate to a nationwide shutter down strike to press for relief.
