KARACHI: The traders and business associations of Pakistan held Sunday a press conference to register their protest against over alleged discrimination of Karachi people who are being fined Rs50,000 in challans by Sindh government for running their business in the port city amid Covid led restrictions, ARY News reported.
Even with a four per cent positivity rate of Covid, the government shut down all the business activitiy in the name of lockdowns in Karachi, said trade association leader Mujahid Uddin, adding that discrimination against Karachiites should stop.
At least consider it your foster brother, said the leader bewailing the treatment they say is meted out to them resulting in Karachiites resorting to seeking alms to barely subsist.
Another senior trader leader Atiq Mir said the government has gone desensitized fully as the businesses have gone to every possible avenue to be heard for their miseries but to no avail.
All our fault is to open and close shops to do our business, Mir said, adding there are total of four million daily wagers in Karachi whose survival is at the stake with lockdown situation.
I urge all traders and businessmen to support our cause in a concerted effort because the only way to resolve this is on the roads, he said referring to protests if the government doesn’t allow traders to stay open beyond the 6 pm curfew.
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Separately just earlier today, the vice chairman of Sindh’s trader alliance Muhammad Kashif Sabrani said Sunday in a press conference the curb in Covid spread in the recent days is a favorable outcome of people and government ensuring SOP compliance thus businesses should be rewarded with six working days and more hours.
VC Sindh Tajir Ittehad Sabrani said the Chief Minister of Sindh and his commissioned task force have admitted that traders and businessmen have adhered to Covid SOPs which resulted in the mitigation of viral spread.
