On the streets: Traders continue hunger strike over increased rents

Will only resume business activities on Friday as release order of colleague is issued

ABBOTTABAD: The traders of Cantonment Bazaar in Abbottabad continued their hunger strike for a second day on Thursday and kept their shutters down for a fourth day against the increase in rent by Cantonment Board Abbottabad (CBA).

Earlier, on July 18, they observed a three-hour token strike and carried out protest rallies, but on July 19 started a complete shutter down strike against CBA and the deputy commissioner of Abbottabad. They started the protest after Cantonment Bazaar Traders Association President Haji Mumtaz Khan was arrested under Section 3 of Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) and sent to DI Khan jail on the night of July 18.

Hunger strike

The police also registered cases against nine protesting traders for causing an obstruction in the flow of traffic using loudspeakers. The traders were protesting against the CBA for revising the monthly rent of each shop of Cantonment Plaza by 1,500% to 1700%, besides sending them notices of outstanding rent amounting to hundreds of thousands of rupees. Therefore, the traders set up a hunger strike camp outside the office of Cantonment Board on Wednesday. They demanded the release of Mumtaz, reversal of the decision to increase rent and withdrawal of notices of outstanding rent. They demanded the transfer of Abbottabad Deputy Commissioner Ammara Aamir Khattak, DPO Khurum Rasheed and the chief executive officer of CBA.

To the court

The traders of Cantonment Plaza also filed a petition with the Abbottabad bench of the Peshawar High Court against the Abbottabad deputy commissioner for issuing the arrest warrant of Mumtaz under Section 3 of the MPO.

However, a single bench of the Peshawar High Court, headed by Justice Qalandar Ali Khan, accepted the bail application of Mumtaz on Thursday and ordered his release. Following the release order of Mumtaz, the protesting traders announced they will resume their business activities on Friday (today), but vowed to continue the hunger strike till their demands are fulfilled.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 22^nd, 2016.