Business bodies demand end to energy-driven market restrictions, threaten shutdown protests

• Shops currently allowed extended hours till May 31 due to Eidul Azha relaxation

• Earlier restrictions imposed as part of energy-saving austerity measures in April

• Government cites energy conservation and protection of low-income consumers

• Traders say rising inflation and power costs have sharply reduced consumer demand

 ISLAMABAD: Traders’ representative bodies on Sunday threatened nationwide protests if the government reimposes restrictions on early market closures, demanding the “permanent withdrawal of lockdown-style measures” introduced under an energy conservation plan and arguing that such policies have significantly hurt business activity and earnings.

Earlier in April, the government directed shops, markets and shopping malls to close by 8pm, while restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores and wedding halls were instructed to shut down by 10pm as part of an austerity drive aimed at conserving costly imported fuel. The restrictions were temporarily eased earlier this month until May 31 in view of Eidul Azha.

The measures were originally introduced amid a surge in global energy prices following the US-Iran conflict, which escalated after joint Israeli and US strikes on Iran in February. The crisis drove up fuel costs globally, while Pakistan also raised domestic petroleum prices as tensions affected global supply routes, including the Strait of Hormuz — a key transit point for roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas shipments, which has remained largely disrupted for shipping.

Reacting to the situation, Central Association of Traders in Pakistan President Kashif Chaudhry said that with the end of the Iran-US war, there was no justification for continuing lockdown-style restrictions.

“If a lockdown is imposed after June 1, we will relaunch a nationwide protest movement,” he warned in a statement.

Chaudhry urged the prime minister to issue a notification permanently lifting the restrictions from June 1 and called on traders across the country to prepare for full business activity after the deadline.

He said business activity during the summer season typically picks up after 7pm, adding that forcing closures at 8pm was “equivalent to destroying businesses.”

The trader leader further said that rising petroleum prices had already weakened consumers’ purchasing power, while high electricity tariffs and inflation had compounded economic pressure on both traders and the general public.

“High fuel and electricity prices, along with inflation, have eroded the purchasing power of 120 million people,” he said, adding that even when markets remain open, many citizens lack the ability to spend.

Government officials, however, maintain that the restrictions are aimed at reducing energy consumption, controlling electricity generation costs, and protecting low-income segments of society from the impact of imported fuel price volatility.