Accusing authorities of extortion and mismanagement, the protesters claimed that despite paying various taxes, their goods have been stuck at the border crossing for months, leading to severe financial losses.
Following the terrorist attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam on Tuesday, the political parties as well as traders' unions in the region have collectively called for a complete shutdown in the Kashmir valley on Wednesday to show solidarity with the victims' families and to condemn the attack.
Traders from Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan protested on Wednesday at the Pakistan Customs Check Post in Sost, Hunza, in response to the Federal Board of Revenue's (FBR) ban on baggage trade at the Khunjerab border. The traders went on strike to express their opposition to this decision,
On Friday, citizens and traders held a protest in response to the lethal rocket attack on coal mines in Duki, Balochistan, which resulted in the deaths of at least 20 miners and injuries to seven others.
Traders in the Sunni town of Shimla, Kullu, Mandi, Kangra and several parts of Himachal Pradesh staged a protest over the Sanjauli mosque row on Saturday. They demanded police verification of every hawker coming to the state from outside to conduct trading activity.
The local traders of Pakistan-occupied Gilgit Baltistan (PoGB), who manage their livelihoods from the goods passing through the Sost Dry Port, have been protesting for several weeks over the issue of illegal tax collection despite the PoGB's chief court ordering otherwise.
The trader's community in Pakistan has announced a nationwide strike on August 28, against the Tajir Dost scheme introduced by the Federal Board of Revenue, ARY News reported.
Former MLA of the Pakistan-occupied Gilgit Baltistan Assembly, Javed Hussain brought attention to administrative and social issues during a traders' protest in Sost village.
All Pakistan Traders Association President Ajmal Baloch and other traders made this announcement during a joint press conference in Islamabad on Friday.
Chairman of the Shinkiari Traders' Association Alamgir Shah, said: "Our businesses are already suffering from record inflation and are badly hit by the daylong load-shedding as well to our misery."