MURREE: Traders here have rejected the decision of the Murree tehsil administration to extend the Covid-19 lockdown in the town during the Eid holidays.Tufail Akhlaq Abbasi, Raja Akmal Nawaz Abbasi, Wajid Abbasi, Khawar Mir and Imran Butt of Anjuman-i-Tajiran in a joint statement said people of Murree spent the entire summer working hard every year but this year due to the pandemic there was no business.

On the occasion of Eidul Azha when not a single tourist is present in Murree and no case of coronavirus has been reported here, the closure of business activities is unjustified, they said.

Even the local people were not allowed to do Eid shopping.

“We are in touch with the Central Association of Traders of Pakistan and have decided to continue doing business in Murree as per the instructions of the central leaders.”

In such a situation, if any attempt is made to close businesses by force, the traders will protest.

On the direction of the assistant commissioner Murree, police and civil defence personnel on Thursday tried to close shops on Mall Road, Cantt Market, Ring Road, Motor Agency and other areas.

But the traders refused to close their shops, saying the government had not given them any financial package and, therefore, they would not close their businesses.

The traders demanded that shops should be allowed to open under the Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2020