HARIPUR, Feb 25: Traders have rejected the security plan for 8th and 9th of Muharram proposed by police, under which the main bazaar and its link roads would be sealed, and announced that they would boycott the district peace committee.

All Traders Federation, Haripur, President Haji Abdul Saboor Qureshi said at a meeting of the federation: "The inhabitants and shopkeepers of the main bazaar are taken hostage every year in the name of security while the plan is not implemented in other parts of the city."

Saboor Qureshi said the traders would not allow the administration to enforce an unannounced curfew on a particular area. Jewellers Association President Naeem Abid said over 30 Muharram processions were taken out from different parts of the city and banning the entry of the citizens in the main bazaar was unreasonable.

The federation's secretary Abdul Waheed Rabbani said the traders would cooperate with the administration if they were asked to close the shops during the main procession.