17/12/2025
Business Fees Hikes, Facilitation Culture, and Discriminatory Actions Against Chambers Are Concerning Hina Mansab Khan
Rawalpindi:
Renowned women’s chambers and business community leader Hina Mansab Khan has expressed deep concern over excessive fee hikes at DGTO and Secretary level, growing facilitation culture, and discriminatory actions against Chambers of Commerce.
She said:
“Where DGTO fees were previously PKR 25,000, they have now been raised to PKR 100,000, while appeal fees at Secretary level have increased from PKR 50,000 to PKR 100,000. This increase is creating severe challenges for businesses, particularly women’s chambers and small enterprises.”
She added that no effective action has been taken because facilitators exist within the system, providing convenience to both officials and institutions, harming the entire business ecosystem.
“Until this culture of facilitation ends, fees will continue to rise, allegations against chambers will persist, and the business community will keep declining.”
She cited the example of Rawalpindi Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry, which faced baseless allegations in 2018 but was cleared in 2019 due to fair and transparent handling by the then Secretary of Commerce. Unfortunately, similar pressures and discriminatory behavior are being witnessed again today.
DGTO Actions Are Personal, Not Institutional
Hina Mansab Khan said:
“The DGTO’s actions against chambers have now become personal rather than institutional, which is alarming and dangerous for the whole system.”
She added that if DGTO’s oversight was truly impartial, Abbottabad Women Chamber of Commerce would have been treated by the same standards applied to other chambers.
She stated:
“The Abbottabad Chamber president faced serious allegations: no connection with Abbottabad, no domicile, no business, no NTN. Yet, for the past two years, she has been issuing certificates from another chamber and collecting money from women.”
According to Hina Mansab Khan:
Written evidence existed
Hearings were conducted
Yet, the license was granted
She emphasized:
“If DGTO focuses on only one case Rawalpindi Women Chamber while ignoring all other serious cases, this is highly unfair.”
“When institutions become personal, the law is applied unevenly, and facilitation is rampant, such a system cannot progress.”
Demands / Recommendations
Hina Mansab Khan called for:
Independent audit of all DGTO decisions
Equal standards applied to all chamber cases
Accountability for individuals involved in facilitation or bias
Stopping personal targeting of women chambers
She concluded:
“We are not against institutions; we support them to function under law, transparency, and justice. Without reforms, the system will continue to push the business community backwards.”
