KARACHI: Sindh Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah has said the reports regarding the opening of markets till 8 pm from today are baseless and the working hours of the markets will be decided in Monday’s meeting.
Addressing the olive grove planting ceremony on the occasion of World Environment Day on Saturday, the minister hoped that the demands of traders will be accepted on Monday.
He said that a meeting was held with the traders’ representatives at the commissioner’s office. He thanked the traders for accepting the government’s request to withdraw the decision to keep the shops open till 8 p.m.
Nasir Hussain said that demands and recommendations of the traders will be put forward in Monday s meeting hoping that those will be accepted. He said that we fully understand the difficulties faced by the traders but such decisions were taken out of compulsion due to Coronavirus.
Earlier, in protest against the irresponsible behavior of the Sindh government in alleviating concerns of the business community, the Karachi Tajir Action Committee (KTAC), has announced to keep shops open till 8 pm from Saturday (5 June).
Karachi Tajir Action Committee (KTAC), which represents a large number of trade associations in the metropolis on Friday issued a joint statement after their meeting with other trade bodies, said the provincial government neither contacted the committee nor accepted any of its demands regarding restrictions on businesses.
The trader bodies said a decision would also be taken soon regarding the closure of businesses for one day, instead of two weekly offs at present, from next week. The traders’ committee warned of taking to the streets if police or the administration took any coercive action or attempted to sell their shops to enforce coronavirus restrictions.
On May 25, the Sindh government had imposed additional restrictions, including a ban on gatherings of more than 10 people, in view of the rising incidence of Covid-19 cases in the province, while maintaining earlier restrictions including permission for business activities from 5 am to 6 pm for a period of two weeks.
