ISLAMABAD: National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on Interior Chairperson Khurram Shahzad Nawaz on Wednesday assured the business community that he would present the amended bill of Rent Control Act for Islamabad for passage in the next session of NA.
He said this while addressing the business community during his visit to Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI), adding the NA Standing Committee on Interior has already passed the bill and all possible efforts would be made to present it in the next session of the National Assembly for its passage.
He said that ICCI should send him written issues of the business community related to CDA, Police, IESCO and other departments and assured that he would play a role for their redress. He said he would try for the inclusion of president ICCI in the CDA Master Plan Revision Committee to get the input of the business community.
Nawaz said that efforts are afoot to form a transport authority for Islamabad to address the transport issues of the citizens. He said that the flyover in Bhara Kahu would be constructed in next financial year as some technical reasons have caused its delay this year. He said that a ring road for Islamabad would be developed for which survey is in progress.
He said that the business community is a major stakeholder in the economy and the government is focused on promoting ease of doing business for them. He said that in collaboration with the business community, Islamabad would be developed as a model city.
President ICCI Muhammad Ahmed Waheed appreciated the construction package of the government that has the potential to turn around the economy. However, he stressed that the government should extend its last date from December 31 this year to June 30, 2021 so that maximum investors could invest in the construction industry.
He said that the Parliament should bill the rent control act as it is a longstanding issue and its enactment into law would address the concerns of traders and help promote business activities.
Tahir Abbasi, SVP ICCI, and Saifur Rehman Khan, VP ICCI, said that land registry charges in Islamabad are 5 percent as compared to only 1 percent in Punjab and emphasized that these charges in the federal capital should be reduced to bring them at par with Punjab that would boost business activity in construction sector. They further said that reconciliation committees in police stations in Islamabad should be revived and strengthened to reduce pressure on police and help resolve most of the issues amicably.
M Ejaz Abbasi, Zafar Bakhtawari, Ch Muhammad Ali, Malik Rab Nawaz, Aslam Khokhar, Khalid Qureshi, Waqar Bakhtawari, Khalid Chaudhry and others also spoke on the occasion and highlighted various issues of business community for redress.
