ISLAMABAD: As the authorities have failed to reach any decision on the market closing timings in the capital, the local administration has started ignoring the issue and shops are doing business beyond the agreed time of 9pm.

“Though the scheduled meeting between the prime minister and members of the business community could not be held last week, it is unofficially agreed that the administration will not forcibly close the shops after 9pm,” said Kashif Chaudhry, the president of I-10 Markaz.

Similarly, the restaurants are also operating up to and beyond midnight.

However, Mr Chaudhry said the main issue with the current unofficial arrangement was that the police and administration would always have an option to arrest any shopkeeper or restaurant manager for operating late.

Possibly anticipating the problem, Muzzamil Hussain Sabri, the president of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, called upon Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to fix the market closing timings in consultation with the business community.

Meanwhile, the ICCI president said the traders had suffered huge losses due to political sit-ins and the metro bus project.

“As the government waived the property tax of traders at Murree Road in Rawalpindi affected by the metro bus project, the government should extend such concessions to traders in Islamabad,” he added.

Published in Dawn May 16th , 2015

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