LAHORE: A majority of wholesale and retail markets in the provincial capital observed third shutter-down strike against the imposition of 0.6pc withholding tax on banking transactions.

Some retail markets such as Ichhra, Township Main Bazaar, Wapda Town-PIA market, Johar Town G-Block market and College Road Township remained open.

Traders at Anarkali Bazaar observed partial strike.

All wholesale market s like Akbari Mandi, Shah Alam Market, Azam Cloth Market, Badami Bagh Auto Market, Urdu Bazaar, Lytton Road Auto Market, Montgomery Road, Circular Road, Abid Electronics Market, Naulakha Bazaar, Liberty Market, Hafeez Center, Branderth Road, all markets along Main Ferozepur Road remained closed.

The customers of wholesale and retail markets preferred to stay away. In the afternoon, some traders at Urdu Bazaar and Ferozepur Road opened their sale points to avoid loss of a day`s profit.

Traders` representatives said the strike remained successful throughout the country because of unity in their ranks and announced that they would further campaign for their cause after calling meeting of trade bodles.

Naeem Mir of his own faction of the All-Pakistan Anjuman-i-Tajiran told a news conference at the Lahore Press Club that a meeting of traders would be shortly arranged to discuss future line of action. He announced the option of blocking national highways across the country and long march on Islamabad, saying political parties and citizens would support the protests.

Mir claimed that the successful strike in four provinces, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan had made it clear to the government that the traders were united under the banner of the APAT. He said the Federal Board of Revenue tried to give an impression to the public by giving advertisement in printmedia that non-filer traders were tax evaders which was not true.

Announcing the next strategy, Mir said traders would go for shutter-down strike on oct 7 besides holding long march on Islamabad and blocking national highways to force the authorities to accept their `genuine demands`. He said the APAT central committee had called the meeting of traders.

`In the first phase, the traders` convention will be held in all divisions of Sindh and Balochistan on national highways, while in the second phase, protest conventions will be held in Punjab and KPK.` Mir said all national highways would be blocked with full force and the support of the general public who also was affected by this draconian tax.Finally, traders would reach Islamabad and stage a sit-in in front of the FBR Headquarters and would hand over keys to their shops to the officials. Mir said traders were now being forced to seek help from the army chief.

He said the APAT demanded that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should bring the FBR out of political influence, malcing it a neutral and an independent institution.

APAT (Khalid Pervez group) Secretary-General Abdur Razzaque Babar told reporters that the strike remained successful from Khyber to Karachi and gave a strong message to the finance minister and the FBR that traders unanimously rejected the tax. He said if the government failed to withdraw the tax,traders would go for another shutter-down strike on Oct 7.

Babar said the traders had so far remained peaceful but the government and the finance minister would be responsible for violence in future.

Meanwhile, the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the strike against withholding tax on banl< transactions was an eye-opener for the policy-makers and demanded that the government withdraw this unjustified tax immediately.

In a statement issued here, LCCI Vice-President Syed Mahmood Ghaznavi said one-day strike had caused loss of billions to the national economy and the situation would aggravate if the government failed to withdraw this tax immediately.