‘Ready to fill jails’, traders to open shops till 8pm today

Highlighting the businesses’ deteriorating condition amid the ongoing lockdown restrictions, Karachi’s leading traders’ associations announced on Friday they would open shops and businesses till 8pm today and vowed to resist the Sindh government’s order to seal shops for violating the lockdown and Covid-19 standard operating procedures.

The announcement was made in a meeting of leaders of various traders’ bodies. The traders also announced the formation of a ‘Traders Action Committee’, a joint body of traders’ associations of the city, to make collective efforts against the Sindh government’s restrictions on

business activities amid the pandemic.

The Karachi Electronic Dealers Association’s (KEDA) Rizwan Irfan has been made convener of the action committee, while Jamil Paracha, Atiq Mir, Sharjeel Goplani, Hakeem Shah, Waqas Azeem and Rana Raees have been made deputy conveners.

Representatives of markets, shopping malls, wedding halls, hotels, and banquet organisations are also part of the new alliance. After the formation of the committee, the traders took the oath to obey its decisions. Traders’ leaders agreed that all major markets would be open till 8pm today (Saturday). “

If the provincial government tried to seal business and arrest traders, traders would resist it and protest on the roads,” said Hakeem Shah. “If the provincial government wants to make arrests, they are also ready to fill the jail.”

They also said that a decision would be taken to keep the markets closed for one day in a meeting next week. Even after the passage of 48 hours, the unserious attitude of the Sindh government could be seen in the fact that it had not contacted any traders’ leaders or accepted any of their demands.

On Thursday, the traders’ associations had given the Sindh government a 72-hour deadline to heed their demands for easing restrictions and allowing them to run their businesses till 8pm.