Traders reject govt initiative to shut markets by 8pm

KARACHI: Traders on Tuesday opposed the government’s decision to shut down markets by 8pm as part of the energy conservation plan.

“This wouldn’t work this time too like the previous attempts,” Atiq Mir, a Karachi traders leader, told The News after Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal announced that the federal and provincial governments had unanimously decided to shut markets by 8pm across the country under the energy conservation plan. Atiq Mir termed the decision unilateral and said that traders were not taken on board, adding that it was the business community that would be affected by such an act. He also questioned the functioning of power companies, which could not improve over the years. He said that the decision to shut businesses would be devastating for the traders, adding that people do not come out of their homes for shopping during daytime due to scorching heat. The traders leader noted the previous decisions taken to shut the businesses early didn’t yield any results.