CHARSADDA: Like other parts of the province, traders in Charsadda warned to open their shops and resume business activities if the government extended the lockdown beyond April 15.

The decision was taken in a meeting of Tajir Ittehad with its president Iftikhar Hussain Saraf in the chair here on Sunday. The meeting was also attended by its general secretary Habibullah and other office-bearers, including Maulana Salahuddin Shakir, Asmatullah, Mohammad Shoaib, JI district chief Mohammad Riaz, QWP leader Qaiser Jamal, ANP’s Tahseenullah, PML-N’s Sajid Gul and others.

The participants said that the business community, transporters and general public all had been hit hard by the ongoing lockdown in the wake of coronavirus outbreak and demanded of the government to end it.

They also demanded of the government and local administration to relax rules for the business community. The traders said that they had been suffering big losses due to closure of their businesses.

The businessmen urged the provincial government to reopen business centres and markets to save them from bankruptcy and enable the customers to buy essential items for their families.

The meeting suggested that business activities should be resumed across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by following the SOPs and precautionary steps proposed by the committees and government after April 14. They added that in case the ongoing lockdown was extended the traders would have no other option but to stop paying taxes and utility bills due to financial issues.

Meanwhile, the parents are worried about future of their children as they are indulging in negative activities such as gambling and drug abuse due to prolonged holidays. They have demanded of the police department to take notice of the matter and prevent the youth from ruining their future.

In Mansehra, traders demanded of the government to suspend toll tax collection in Khatain Da Galla at Karakoram Highway at least for six months.

“The government has been giving relief to people because of Covid-19 emergency and it should also halt the toll tax collection here with immediate effect as local people and traders have been hit by the current situation,” traders’ body president Mohammad Hanif told a press conference here on Sunday.

Flanked by other office bearers, he said that business activities had been suspended for the last about a month.

Fayyaz Solaria said it was a good step taken by the government to compensate the unemployed daily wagers, but traders were still deprived of any financial benefits.

“The government should announce exemption for small traders from various taxes,” he said.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2020