Staff Correspondent

The NBR Reform Unity Council on Saturday announced that their ongoing complete shutdown and peaceful march will continue on Sunday.

The announcement came through a press statement on Saturday afternoon as it observed the first day of their shutdown with march.

“There will be a complete shutdown in all tax, customs and VAT offices. However, international services will be excluded from this complete shutdown,” the statement reads.

The Paceful March for NBR programme will be held from all tax, customs and VAT offices across the country on June 29, 2025.

The statement also expressed discontent over the business community’s statenment that the removal of the NBR Chairman is in no way desirable and would not bring any success.

“We express our deep regret that their press release does not clarify why the removal of a bureaucrat—who has become a collaborator of a fallen fascist regime—is not desirable to them,” it said.

The Unity Council reaffirmed their stance saying they have already clarified why the removal of NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan, “a collaborator of the fascist government,” is essential for “complete, genuine, sustainable, and realistic” reforms of the revenue system.

“We hope that the government, the business community, and the people of the country will support our demand for the removal of this controversial NBR Chairman,” it added.

The statement reiterated, “There is no alternative to his removal for the sake of building a capable, modern, and harassment-free National Board of Revenue, and play a positive role in overall reforms, increasing export income, and enhancing revenue collection.”

The Unity Council, however, commended the business community for their overall position on revenue reform. “They have appropriately outlined the process and objectives of revenue reform,” the statement said.

The Council also expressed willingness to hold discussions with the Finance Adviser to resolve the situation.

“In order to resolve the situation in the interest of the country and revenue, the NBR Reform Unity Council is always ready to hold discussions with the Finance Adviser  any time to rationalise the reform programme in the light of the press release issued on May 25, 2025.”

“But no clear steps have been taken regarding this discussion in the light of our such request from the Finance Minister's office,” it added.

The Unity Council requested the Chief Adviser to intervene in the issue to resolve the problem for the sake of the bigger interest of the country.