Coronavirus lockdown: 2 brothers waive off rent of shops in Takht Bhai

PESHAWAR: Two brothers from the ancient city of Takht Bhai have set a great example for others to follow by waiving of the rent of all their tenants who have been facing the worst times during the ongoing lockdown due to the Covid-19 crisis in the country.

Haq Nawaz Khan, a journalist, and his brother Aurangzeb Khan, who is a politician, own a good number of shops and residential quarters in the main bazaar in Takht Bhai, which is famous for an archaeological site dating back to the Gandhara period.

“I visited the market that we own when the coronavirus crisis began and found most of the shops closed. It was there and then that I made up my mind not to take rent from the shopkeepers until the market is reopened,” Haq Nawaz, told The News.

Working for the Washington Post these days, Haq Nawaz is the son of late Fazle Maula Khan, who was an influential figure in the city.

Aurangzeb Khan, his elder brother, is a politician serving as the district general secretary of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). He has remained union council chairman and district council member besides contesting general elections for the provincial assembly.

“When I discussed the idea of waiving the rent of the tenants with Aurangzeb Khan, he happily agreed and asked the caretaker of our properties not to collect rent this month,” he said.

Haq Nawaz alone owns some 70 shops. His brother owns an equal number of shops and quarters in the town. The two brothers collect around half a million rupees as rent from the shops.

Currently, he has announced a month waiver of the rent, which he thinks could be extended until the crisis is overcome and normalcy resumes.

The partial lockdown in the country has been hitting the lower middle class, daily wagers and small business owners hard. It is becoming difficult for them to make both ends meet. In this situation, there is need for the well-off people to come forward with such generous gestures and provide relief to those affected by the crisis.