DATE=5/19/2000 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=PAKISTAN / PROTEST (L-ONLY) NUMBER=2-262556 BYLINE=SCOTT ANGER DATELINE=ISLAMABAD CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: In Pakistan, a three-day strike called by retailers and religious groups has shut down the country's major cities. The business community is protesting government plans for a retail sales tax, while religious groups are pressing the military government to restore Islamic law. V-O-A's Scott Anger reports from Islamabad. TEXT: Businesses across Pakistan shut their doors (Friday) to protest the military government's plan to widen its tax base. Currently, there is no broad-based retail sales tax in Pakistan, where only one percent of the country's 140- million people pay income tax. Business owners say the tax plan would make them vulnerable to abuse by corrupt tax officials. The strike is the first major act of defiance against Pakistan's military government. Since ousting the democratically-elected government last October, the military leader, General Pervez Musharraf, has vowed to reform Pakistan's political system and revive its ailing economy. Political governments in the past have been unable to implement such taxes after bowing to similar pressure from the business community. The strike comes at a time when an International Monetary Fund mission is in Pakistan holding talks on whether the debt-ridden country deserves more financial assistance. The I-M-F stalled a loan program last year after Pakistan failed to meet economic targets, including reform of the tax system. Meanwhile, Pakistan's religious leaders also called a strike Friday, urging people to stay at home to press the government to implement Islamic laws, such as the elimination of interest charges at banks and the declaration of Fridays as public holidays. Banks' interest charges are considered to be against Islam. The religious groups want Islamic laws included in the provisional constitution, which was put in place after the military ousted the civilian government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on October 12th. Pakistan's commercial capital, Karachi, has been most affected by the simultaneous strike calls. A prominent Sunni Muslim scholar and his driver were shot dead on Thursday, leading to violent street protests. No one has taken responsibility for the killing, which is the latest in a series of attacks apparently motivated by religious differences, involving rival Sunni and Shiite Muslim groups. Soldiers and paramilitary police have been positioned around the city following the violence, which has left least three people dead and several injured. (Signed) NEB/SA/WTW 19-May-2000 08:33 AM EDT (19-May-2000 1233 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .
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