Federal cabinet suspends market closure restrictions until May 31

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet has temporarily withdrawn previously imposed business closing-time restrictions across the country, allowing a broad range of commercial establishments to operate without limits on closing hours until May 31, according to an official notification issued by the Cabinet Division.

The notification said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved the immediate exemption from an earlier order dated April 6 that had fixed operating hours for different categories of businesses under austerity measures.

Under the latest directive, shops, departmental stores, bazaars, markets and shopping malls will be allowed to remain open on all days of the week without any restriction on closing time. The exemption also covers bakeries, tandoors, restaurants and grocery stores, which have likewise been permitted to operate throughout the week.

The order, signed by a joint secretary in the Cabinet Division, took effect immediately and will remain in force until May 31.

Earlier austerity measures

The federal government had earlier introduced austerity measures covering Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Under those regulations, general stores, departmental stores and all types of malls were required to close by 8pm, while bakeries, restaurants, tandoors and food outlets were allowed to stay open until 10pm.

The April 6 notification also set limits on private events. "Private properties and homes will also be prohibited from hosting weddings or social gatherings past 10pm. However, medical stores and pharmacies will remain exempt from these restrictions," it stated.

Besides business-hour limits, the government had announced several other austerity steps. These included an additional weekly holiday, reductions in free petrol allocations for ministers, curbs on protocol vehicles and a proposal for subsidised fuel for students.

Related developments

On May 6, Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon also revised the capital's austerity-related business timings.

Separately, the Sindh government announced on Saturday that shops, markets, shopping malls, hotels, restaurants, marriage halls and marquees would also be exempted from previously imposed closing-time restrictions introduced under austerity measures.

The latest federal decision provides temporary relief from the earlier nationwide restrictions and will stay in place through the end of May, as stated in the Cabinet Division notification.