Rana Waqas Anwar, Administrator, Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI)/Acting Deputy Commissioner Islamabad along with his team visited the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry and interacted with the business community to learn about their issues. Kamran Bakhtat Dy. DG MCI, Yasir Arafat DMA, Rana Waqas Mustaqeem Director Revenue, Dr. Mustafa Alam Director 1122, Dr. Irshad Ali Jokhio Director Health Services, Ch. Iftikhar Haidri Director Disaster Management, and others were in the delegation.

Speaking on the occasion, Rana Waqas Anwar said that MCI wants to move forward with the consensus of the business community to address their issues and facilitate them in business promotion. He said that he would visit markets to see the situation of encroachments and take measures to remove them in coordination with ICCI and concerned market associations. He said that MCI is making a uniform policy to remove all billboards in Islamabad as they are affecting the beauty of the city. He said that vending zones are being considered for shifting pushcarts from markets. He said that law-abiding citizens would get some rebate in property tax. He said that board tax and trade license fees should be paid to only one entity from MCI or UC. He said that open spaces would be allotted only to the shopkeepers. He said that no brand would be damaged and only violations would be removed from markets. He said that if anyone gives notice to traders using the name of the Punjab Government, he should be handed to the police for appropriate action.

Speaking on the occasion, Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry briefed the MCI delegation about the key issues of the business community. He said that encroachments should be removed in consultation with ICCI and concerned market associations. He said that notification of mutually agreed board tax and trade license should be issued. He said that no building should be demolished while removing violations and all markets of Islamabad should be maintained and developed on modern lines.

Faad Waheed, Senior Vice President ICCI said that the business community is the major stakeholder in the development of Islamabad and MCI should take ICCI on board before making major policy decisions.

Muhammad Ejaz Abbasi Convener ICCI MCI Sub-Committee, Ajmal Baloch President All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran, Khalid Chaudhry former Senior Vice President ICCI, Asad Aziz President Jinnah Super Market, Shehzad Shabbir Abbasi President Super Market, Ahmed Khan President F-10 Markaz, Zahid Qureshi I-8 Markaz, representatives of G-10 Markaz, G-11 Markaz, and various other markets also highlighted the issues of their respective markets and stressed for their urgent redressal.