–All City Tajir Ittehad president arrested for defying lockdown
KARACHI: Karachi traders on Wednesday threatened to launch a jail bharo (fill the jails) movement if their demand to resume businesses in the metropolis during the COVID-19 lockdown is not accepted.
“If our demands are not accepted, we will be launching a movement to fill jails,” Sindh Tajir Ittehad (STI) leader Jameel Paracha threatened during a joint presser of different trade organisations.
He said that the traders would reopen their shops from the first day of the Ramzan. “We will not meet any negotiating team or minister of the provincial government,” he added.
Electronic Dealers Association (EDA) leader Rizwan Irfan said that the Sindh government was only trying to buy some time by trying to engage the traders in talks.
“They have no sympathy towards the miserable condition traders and labourers are going through at this time,” he said.
Another trade leader Illyas Memon said that both the federal and provincial governments want to cripple the businesses. “Thousands of labourers have become unemployed due to closure of shops,” he said adding that they were in no position to pay their utility bills and taxes.
Meanwhile, the All City Tajir Ittehad (ACTI) president was arrested along with four others by local police over allegations of defying coronavirus lockdown restrictions.
The traders had forcibly opened shops disregarding government orders, the police, therefore, took action and ‘Iron Market’ area of the metropolis was completely shut down.
ACTI members have claimed that the police roughed them up and forced them to shut down shops.
Karachi traders summoned an emergency meeting earlier in the day after their deadline to the Sindh government to resume businesses in the metropolis expired yesterday.
The Sindh government had asked the traders to wait till Tuesday before they finalise the SOPs needed to resume businesses.
“We will finalise the next move if any hindrance from the government is created in refraining us from opening our shops,” said Jameel Paracha.
He said that they had to stop paying power dues and expel their employees to overcome the financial constraints faced due to coronavirus lockdown.
Paracha said that the provincial ministers Saeed Ghani and Nasir Hussain Shah were not responding to their phone calls.
