Centaurus Mall unsealed after traders protest

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad district administration on Tuesday evening unsealed the Centaurus Mall hours after the Capital Development Authority (CDA) had shut it down for “violating” building regulations.

According to Geo News, the mall has been unsealed after the district administration held talks with traders who were protesting since the morning after the mall had been shut down. The traders had blocked the Jinnah Avenue in protest and warned that they would bring the capital to a halt if the mall was not opened.

The PTI linked the mall closure to the protest launched by Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas, who owns the mall, during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s speech in Mangla.

“Sealing of [mall] by PDM mafia in response to PM AJK censuring Shehbaz Sharif for not mentioning sacrifices of Kashmiris shows there is law of the jungle in Pakistan for the last eight months,” claimed Imran Khan, adding that the move “sends negative signals to Kashmiris” and it was also a question for the judiciary.

PTI leader Ch Fawad Hussain also slammed the move. “AJK PM during [Prime Minister] Shehbaz Sharif’s speech stood on his seat and protested against Pakistan’s weak stance on Kashmir issue for which first his car was stopped in Mangla and today his business has been sealed,” tweeted Fawad.

“Never before in Pakistan’s history has there been a government as fascist as this one. If AJK’s PM will be subjected to such treatment just for protesting, what message are you conveying to occupied Kashmir and foreign investors in the country? Such actions will only drag the already whimpering economy down,” Fawad tweeted.

In a tweet, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb berated the PTI chief and said a person who failed on several fronts, including governance and foreign policy, should refrain from lecturing the PM on the Kashmir issue.