PESHAWAR: Traders of a shopping plaza here on Monday held a protest demonstration against the ban on parking outside their workplaces and demanded its immediate lifting.

Shopkeepers of Dil Jan Khan plaza holding banners and placards inscribed with slogans against the ban shouted slogans in favour of their demand.

The traders’ leaders, including Gul Nabi Khan and Mohammad Naeem Khan, told journalists that on the pretext of terror threat personnel of Frontier Constabulary had placed cemented blocks and razor-wire outside the building, creating problems for the traders and customers.

The protesters said that there were at least 70 auto-shops in the plaza which had been dealing in the business for the past 32 years but the ban on parking for the past seven months had caused financial problems for the shop owners.

They said business activities in the area were next to nil as customers were not allowed to park vehicles even for a few minutes.

The traders said that law enforcers forced them to shut shops whenever they felt it necessary without keeping in mind that the action could affect lives of thousands of people.

Owing to the ban on parking, they claimed some 3,000 daily wagers had already lost their sources of income.

They said that incidents of extortion, kidnapping for ransom, and targeted killings had already played havoc with businesses in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in general and in Peshawar in particular.

The Frontier Constabulary, the traders said had acquired vast piece of land in Hayatabad and the government should shift its headquarters from the busy commercial area to minimise threat to lives of people.

The protesting traders appealed to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmed Khan to address their concerns.

The traders threatened to continue there protest if their demand was not met.

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2015

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