Pakistani traders reject compromise

A group representing traders in the Pakistani city of Peshawar has rejected a government proposal to gradually introduce sales tax on smuggled goods, which are widely traded in the region.

The deputy general-secretary of the Tribal Traders Association, Mujibur Rahman, said the government had only given the traders three months to sell off their goods before they had to start paying taxes - he said they needed at least a year.

The tax had been due to come into force today but the government agreed to delay it, after holding meetings with traders' groups last week. Traders in North West Frontier and Baluchistan staged three days of strikes last week to protest at the proposed customs tax on the smuggled goods, most of which come from neighbouring Afghanistan or the Gulf states.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service