KARACHI – Traders have vowed to observe a shutdown at all costs on October 29 and 30.
Addressing a joint press conference on Monday, All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajran secretary-general Naeem Mir said that they will not be lured by FBR Chairman Shabbar Zaidi.
“We will not hold talks with the government unless the FBR chairman ensures us in writing,” he said.
He said that they cannot be intimidated by arrests. “Traders do not want to observe the strike, but we are being forced to observe it,” he said.
Anjuman-e-Tajran Mall Road president Sohail Mahmood said that frequent protests on The Mall Road have destroyed their business. “Fazalur Rehman is being stopped due to Section 144, but the protests on the Mall Road are not stopped despite the imposition of Section 144,” he said.
He said that the government should resolve the problems of traders instead of making fun of them.
Addressing a joint press conference in Karachi, the Electronics Dealers Association president said that city’s 600 markets would observe a complete shutdown on October 29 and 30.
Small traders said that the strike was also observed in July, but the government did not pay attention to them. “We might observe a strike for an indefinite period if the government did not take action on our strikes,” he said.
On October 1, the All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajran had announced a shutdown strike in advance. However, the government did not contact the traders.
