PESHAWAR: Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry has urged traders to get themselves vaccinated at the earliest so that virus restrictions can be eased and business activities can be resumed in the provincial metropolis.

SCCI president Sherbaz Bilour in a statement here said that government had made the Covid-19 vaccine mandatory for ending lockdown. He said that a delegation of businessmen held meeting with National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) chief Asad Umar in Islamabad to request him to ease the restrictions imposed on business activities but he linked it to vaccination of traders.

The SCCI chief said that a vaccination centre would be set up at the chamber in collaboration with health department where members of the business community would get the vaccine.

He said that Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, head of trade bodies, director general health services, additional secretary commerce and other relevant officials were present during the meeting.

The NCOC chief, he said, assigned the task to heads of all chambers to ensure vaccination of traders so that the restrictions would be lifted. Without vaccination, the traders would face the restrictions, he added.

“We apprised the minister of the problems being faced by the traders owing to lockdown and demanded of the government to announce special financial relief package for the business community,” said the chamber chief.

He said that businessmen were ready to extend full cooperation to the government and local administration at every level. However, he said that traders could not keep their shops closed any longer.

Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2021