RAWALPINDI: Traders in Saddar, the main commercial hub of the Cantonment, demanded that the federal government stop approving commercial plazas in main markets unless parking plazas are constructed.

They said there is a dire need to build parking plazas along the pedestrian street from Cantonment police station road to Murree Road, as market visitors have declined in the absence of proper parking space.

There are two parking spaces allocated by RCB in Saddar, one at Haider Road along the Metro Bus station and the second in front of Ceros Cinema, with a total capacity of 700 cars.

However, after Bank Road Saddar was declared a pedestrian street, parking in main commercial plazas like Rania Mall and others became ineffective, as no cars entered Bank Road.

General Secretary of Markazi Anjuman Tajran Rawalpindi Cantonment, Zaffar Qadri, told Dawn that Bank Road has been declared a pedestrian-only zone, and vehicle entry has been completely restricted. As a result, he said, customers are unable to access the commercial area conveniently.

The existing commercial plazas do not have sufficient parking facilities, and parking is also prohibited on the main road, he said. “At present, the only available parking options are on Kashmir Road, Haider Road, Adamjee Road, and one public parking facility with a capacity of approximately 700 vehicles.

These facilities are far from sufficient to meet the parking needs of the large number of commercial establishments and visitors,” he said.

Despite this serious shortage of parking, new commercial plazas continue to receive construction approvals without ensuring adequate parking provisions, he said.

He said that this has led to severe traffic and accessibility issues, causing many customers to stop visiting the area. Consequently, traders are facing significant financial losses and growing business difficulties.

He said that the traders’ association requested that no new commercial shops or commercial plaza building plans be approved until the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board and the Federal Government allocate sufficient land for public parking or construct modern parking plazas to meet the area’s needs.

He said that RCB officials were turning a blind eye to the issue and that they requested the federal government to solve it.

He said that the traders’ delegation wanted to meet the cantonment executive officer and the RCB president and hoped that this matter would be solved in the interest of traders, customers, and the general public.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2026