ISLAMABAD: Traders of the capital on Friday took strong exception to the government’s inaction in the face of continued sit-ins by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT).

“Our business is suffering as residents are not visiting markets due to security reasons,” President of Super Market Traders Welfare Association Sarfraz Mughal while talking to Dawn said.

Moreover, traders are concerned about security issues as thousands of people have entered the federal capital without being registered, he said.

The PTI and the PAT started sit-ins on August 15 and then they managed to enter the Red Zone on August 19 and since then they have been sitting there. Three died and around 1,000 were injured during clashes between police and participants of sit-ins when the former tried to march on the Prime Minister House.

Sarfraz Mughal said that traders were the main victim of the sit-ins in their wake commercial activities have decreased.

“People do not come to the market so it has become impossible for the traders to continue their businesses because most of the traders are tenant and if they do not earn they cannot pay the rent of the shops,” he said.

Kausar Ali, manager of a well known medical store in Sector F-6, seemed more worry about the security arrangements.

Mr Ali said that on Thursday as many as seven armed persons entered the branch of his medical store at Chandni Chowk and took away all the cash. They also tortured a guard who tried to put up some resistance.Another trader Ghulam Husan Butt said as police were on sit-ins duty they had mad it a habit not to reach the place of incident.

“Thousands of protesters in the federal capital are also a security risk therefore most people prefer to stay at home,” he said.

Trader Faiz Rehman said that government should take steps to shift the participants of sit-in out of the city.

Published in Dawn, September 20th , 2014