April 11, 2008	Friday	Rabi-us-Sani 4, 1429

KARACHI, April 10: The business community has expressed grave concern over the violence that erupted in the city on Wednesday.

It urged the Pakistan People’s Party and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, representing rural and urban Sindh, respectively, on Thursday to be more accommodative to fulfill their commitments of creating conditions conducive for economic progress in the province and the country.

The businessmen maintained that law and order and political harmony were necessary for promotion of trade and industry and economic development.

Soon after a fresh wave of violence in the city, some business leaders attempted desperately to directly contact the PPP and MQM leaderships to persuade them to play their role in containing the violence and sort out their issues amicably in the larger interest of the industrial hub of the country.

Business leaders told Dawn that a coalition government of PPP-MQM is a “must” for Sindh, otherwise the situation in Karachi and the rest of the province will continue to boil, affecting the trade and industry, besides endangering lives of the citizens.

Korangi Association of Trade and Industry Chairman Shaikh Fazl-e-Jalil said that he rang up the MNAs and MPAs from the Korangi area, urging them to cooperate with each other to ensure a peaceful environment in the city.

He said that the PPP leadership was not available on Thursday. “We will try to contact Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah on Friday and ask him to make every effort in winning over the disheartened partner for the future of the province,” he said.

He recalled the black period of 1990s when Karachi witnessed flight of capital and shifting of industries to the up-country, besides huge losses to the trade and industry.

Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) President Shamim Ahmed Shamsi said that the KCCI had been demanding for sometime now of the winners of February elections in Sindh, the MQM and PPP, to jointly run the government in Sindh as this will serve the interest of both the parties.

He recalled that the business community had already met PPP chief Asif Ali Zardari soon after the elections followed by a meeting with top MQM leaders and had urged them to move towards a joint government.

The KCCI has also sought a meeting with Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani so that the issues relating to trade and industry and PPP-MQM partnership could be discussed at length, Shamim said.

He said a day closure in Karachi because of violence and strike results into a loss of Rs14 billion in terms of taxes and duties, production and export and business losses in the markets.

He said a dissemination ceremony of the Tripak project, a strategic alliance between Karachi, Naples (Italy), Birmingham and Coventry (UK) Chambers, which was to be held on Thursday night, had been postponed till Saturday as many foreigners could not reach Karachi because of delay in flights after Wednesday’s violence.

Site Association of Industry Chairman Nisar Sheikhani said that the PPP alliance with the MQM should be in the spirit of national reconciliation enunciated by the PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, which led to the formation of a coalition government at the centre and in other provinces.

F.B. Area Association of Trade and Industry Chairman Idris Gigi said the next two to three days were very crucial. If PPP-MQM leaderships could not find a solution his association will again approach both the parties.

The visit of Mr. Zardari to MQM headquarters had enlivened hopes for a peaceful atmosphere in Sindh and a possible settlement of old disputes but after manhandling of the former chief minister Arbab Rahim there has been a deadlock.

He felt that there was a dire need for an image building for Karachi and the country. Together both the MQM and PPP can improve the negative image of the city.