ISLAMABAD, Nov 27: Internal rivalry in the business community is on the streets as representatives of the traders` association on Wednesday held a protest against Islamabad Women Chambers of Commerce and Industry (IWCCI).

On the other hand, the women chamber termed the Islamabad Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) `liars and chauvinists.

The protest was launched by traders against the women chamber after the Regulator of Trade Organisations gave a decision in favour of Munawar Mughal on Wednesday.

Mr Mughal had previously been nominated by the ICCI to represent Islamabad in the executive committee of the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) for 2014.

However, this nomination was challenged by the IWCCI and the Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders (ICST) who maintained that they should have been involved in the selection process.

In response, Mr Mughal filed an appeal before the RTO, and after hearing the arguments of ICCI, IWCCI and ICST, the regulator on Wednesday decided in favour of Mr Mughal.

The regulator maintained that the women chamber and small chamber already had a quota allocated to them in the FPCCI.

`Encroachment in each other`s domain cannot be allowed to defeat the spirit of law, the regulator said while directing the FPCCI to accept Mr Mughal`s nomination.

According to the ICCI, there is already a separate quota in the FPCCI for women chambers and small chambers, and they should not be interfering in the affairs of ICCI.

On the other hand, President IWCCI Samina Fazil, while talking to Dawn, said the regulator`s decision was wrong and the ICCI members were biased against women entre-preneurs.

`The law is equal for women but they (ICCI personnel) are chauvinists who want to set aside our candidate Naima Ansari using illegal means,` Ms Fazil alleged.

Although the regulator gave the ruling in favour of Mr Mughal, traders launched a protest against the women chamber which was led by Central Organising Secretary of Traders Action Committee (TAC) Ajmal Baloch.

The protesters demanded of the FPCCI to cancel the membership of IWCCI as its license had already expired.

`The law says that there have to be at least 150 members to establish a chamber. Do we even have 150 registered women entrepreneurs in Islamabad?` Mr Baloch said, adding that IWCCI affairs had to be checked and its accounts scrutinised.

Traders and TAC have been at odds with the ICCI in the past, but they have aligned themselves with the Islamabad chamber only to oppose the women chamber.

Supposedly, this is because the IWCCI is working on holding an annual exhibition in Islamabad which would showcase consumer items especially textiles and clothing.

Traders are afraid that they might lose their customers to the exhibitors.

As the internal divide between various groups of the community becomes more conspicuous, it is feared that all sides would go to extremes to woo support from traders in their favour.

The same view has been expressed by the Capital Development Authority which is already facing resistance from the business community over various issues such as levying fee on parking and outdoor advertising.

Rivalries between the business communities are likely to heat up in the near future as both TAC and the ICCI are also against the ICST because they wanted the licence for establishing the small chamber which was awarded to a third party instead.