Traders demand lifting of curfew in South Waziristan

WANA: The business community on Thursday asked the district administration to lift curfew from the Rustam Bazaar in Wana as the continuous curfew had ruined their businesses.

Over 10,000 shops, filling stations, restaurants and hotels and other trade outlets remained closed after curfew clamped following terrorists attack on the security forces on Wana Bypass Road.

The shopkeepers and traders said that it was an injustice with them to close their businesses for several days in Rustam Bazaar, the major hub of business activities in Wana. They complained that the government had not changed its modus operandi despite the merger of tribal areas into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and, according to them, the black law of Frontier Crimes Regulation was still being implemented in vague.

They said that over 30,000 people was attached to the businesses and labour work in Rustam Bazaar but they were now rendered jobless due to the persistent curfew. They urged the district administration to lift curfew and allow them to start their businesses at the Rustam Bazaar to earn livelihood for their poor families.