Multan: Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) President Mian Bakhtawar Tanvir Sheikh said that the Directorate General of Trade Organizations (DGTO)’s rejection of all 17 appeals challenging the chamber’s 2026-28 election process has established that the objections raised by the Friends Group against the Founder Group were without legal or factual basis.
He said the DGTO’s detailed decision had found the actions taken by the MCCI Secretary General and Election Commission to be in accordance with the law and relevant rules, while rejecting the objections raised by the Friends Group.
Mr Sheikh said the Friends Group had challenged the voter list, classification of members and the status of certain business entities in the chamber. He alleged that these issues were exaggerated on social and electronic media as part of what he described as a negative campaign against the Founder Group and the chamber’s leadership.
According to him, the DGTO decision had now clarified the factual and legal position, while the rejection of all 17 appeals by the regulatory authority demonstrated that the objections were not sustainable on either legal or factual grounds.
Referring specifically to the case of Osteria Food Technologies, the MCCI president said the Friends Group had used the matter to launch what he termed a character-assassination campaign against the Founder Group and responsible chamber officials on social and certain electronic media platforms.
He said an impression had been created that the chamber had disregarded laws and regulations in dealing with the matter. However, the DGTO, after examining the record, relevant documents, tax records and arguments presented by the parties, had upheld the decisions concerned and determined that the chamber’s actions were in accordance with the law.
He said the DGTO’s endorsement of the decision to retain Osteria Food Technologies on the relevant voter list had also exposed what he described as the lack of factual basis behind the negative propaganda surrounding the issue.
Mian Bakhtawar Tanvir Sheikh stressed that it was not in the interest of the business community to make the reputation of any business entity or trader controversial for political or electoral gains.
‘Differences of opinion are the right of every group in an election, but such differences should not be turned into false allegations, character assassination or negative propaganda,’ he said.
He maintained that the Founder Group had always given priority to law, merit, transparency and the collective interests of the business community.
The MCCI president said the DGTO decision would provide satisfaction to traders who wanted electoral and administrative matters to be decided on the basis of facts and law. He said the Founder Group was not contesting the elections against any individual or group but was working for the rights of Multan’s traders and industrialists, improvement of the business environment and effective representation of the business community.
He described the Founder Group as a genuinely business-friendly group, saying its manifesto focused on serving the business community, promoting trade and industry and resolving traders’ problems.
He urged the business community to choose its representatives on the basis of facts, performance and legal decisions rather than negative propaganda.
He also called upon all stakeholders to ensure that the electoral process proceeded in a positive, transparent and dignified manner in accordance with the DGTO decision.
Mr Sheikh said the Founder Group believed in the unity and dignity of the business community and would continue to raise the voice of Multan’s traders and industrialists.
