SWAT: Business leaders from across Malakand division vowed on Sunday to resist imposition of taxes and Customs Act, terming it `a matter of life and death` for locals and branding the government`s move unconstitutional and unjust.

The declaration came during a meeting convened under the chairmanship of Noor Mohammad Khan, president of Swat Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Abdul Rahim, president of Malakand Division Traders Federation, the federation`s spokesperson Dr Khalid Mehmood, senior vice president of chamber Mohammad Khurshid Iqbal, vice president Khalid Khan, and action committee members Yousaf Ali Khan, Adnan Ali and Farhad Ali attended the meeting.

They rejected the abolition of Malakand division`s special administrative status and proposed enforcement of federal tax and customs laws. `We will never allow imposition of taxes in Malakand. The government must immediately revoke its decision, or we will launch a region-wide resistance movement,` they said.

The business leaders argued that Sartaj Aziz Commission, which laid the foundation for the current changes, was formed to address issues in Fata and not Pata that included Malakand. `Malakand was dragged into this process under a conspiracy. No member of the committee ever visited the region, nor was Malakand mentioned in its findings,` they claimed.

Speakers also expressed concerns over exploitation of local natural resources, such as emerald mines, forests, minerals and water, saying that revenue from those resources benefitted outsiders and locals remained marginalised.

They denounced the repeal of Articles 246 and 247 of the Constitution in 2018 as illegal and called for the immediate public release of Sartaj Aziz Commission`s report. `Once the report is published, the state will realise the full extent of this injustice,` they noted.

Severe criticism was also directed at the provincial government, which was accused of double standards. `They align with the centre in private but pretend to oppose it before the public. The MPAs elected in 2018 have treated Malakand`s people like stepchildren and will not escape public anger,` said a participant of the meeting.