PESHAWAR: Three traders have jointly moved the Peshawar High Court seeking orders for the provincial government to register all fruit, vegetable and livestock markets in the province.

In the petition, Mardan Chamber of Commerce and Industry executive committee member Zahir Shah and vegetable dealers Rehman Ghani and Mohammad Saeed alleged that unregistered markets were involved in money laundering.

They requested the court to declare illegal private markets of vegetables, fruits and livestock functioning in the province with the government’s permission.

The petitioners prayed the court to direct the federal and provincial governments and revenue authorities concerned to put up a necessary mechanism to document the business of vegetables, fruits and livestock and channelise the same through banks to check money laundering.

Petitioners claim unregistered markets involved in money laundering

They expressed reservations about the involvement of Afghan refugees in the business and requested the high court to stop refugees without work permit from doing so.

The petitioners challenged the functioning of an organisation, All Pakistan Agriculture Produce Traders Federation, and requested the court to declare the functioning of the federation unconstitutional and its election illegal.

The petition filed through lawyer M Muazzam Butt said the business related to the import and export of vegetables, fruits, livestock and agricultural produces involved transactions of billions of rupees on a daily basis.

It added that such goods were transported from Afghanistan to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Afghanistan, and from Punjab to Afghanistan through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa every day.

The petitioners said the government was under lawful obligation to regularise those businesses and regulate the market affairs.

They said the provincial government had established only two registered markets for those businesses, whereas more than 100 markets were being privately operated.

The petitioners claimed that the entire business carried out within Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was undocumented.

They alleged that Malik Mohammad Ali Sohni owning ‘fake organisations’ had been acting as a bridge between the government and stakeholders.

The petitioners added that the man had earlier entered into voluntary return deal with the National Accountability Bureau in 2015 due to some corrupt practices and was pardoned by the NAB.

The petitioners said Malik Sohni claimed of holding elections of all those related with those businesses under the banner of the All Pakistan Agriculture Produce Traders Federation.

They claimed that they acquired information from Director General Trade Organisations, under the Trade Organisations Act, 2013, according to which the federal government has licensed All Pakistan Fruits and Vegetables Exporter, Importer and Merchants Association as a trade organization.

The petitioners said the management of said association had told petitioners that the APAPTF was a self-proclaimed federation of Malik Sohni and was not recognized by them in any manner.

They claimed that the only federation recognsied by law was the All Pakistan Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, so Malik Sohni was cheating people.

The petitioners said Malik Sohni had announced national elections on his own without any authentic voting list and supervision of federal government.

Respondents in the petition are Malik Sohni, KP government through chief secretary, provincial secretaries of home, agriculture and local government departments, State Bank of Pakistan through chief manager of Peshawar region, KP Revenue Authority, FIA Peshawar director, NAB KP director general, and Federal Board of Revenue through its chairman.

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2020