Traders cancel import orders as violence grips Karachi

Major bazaars forced to close, traders threaten shutdown.

KARACHI: Karachi traders have had to cancel their import orders worth billions of rupees as markets suffer due to increasing violence in the city, informed Traders Action Committee Chairman Siddiq Memon.

Speaking to The Express Tribune on Monday, Memon claimed that orders worth Rs3.5 billion have already been cancelled, while many businessmen planning trips abroad to bring in supplies for their shops have also called off their trips.

He informed that these cancelled orders comprised mainly clothing and accessories from Far Eastern countries including Thailand and Vietnam.

“Since the beginning of 2011, our shops have remained closed most of the time due to various incidents of violence, following which our stock has remained unsold,” he stated.

Memon informed that almost 80 per cent shops in all major markets of the city were forced to close by Monday evening, as activists of political parties carrying weapons threatened shopkeepers. He said that traders have called a meeting on March 23 to protest against the government

and call for increased security.

“We have planned to stage a protest and if the government did not listen to our demands, we will shut down our shops for an indefinite period,” he stated.

All Pakistan Alliance for Traders Associations spokesperson Ismail Lalburia claimed that the city’s wholesale markets had suffered losses worth Rs2 billion since Friday. He explained that traders from interior Sindh came to Karachi to buy goods in bulk over the weekend, but following the critical situation, these people stayed away.

He said that many dailywage earners have had to be laid off as there was no work for them. Referring to the city situation on Monday, he informed that almost all major

wholesale markets remained shut, while those who dared to open were threatened and forced to close their businesses. Ali Akber, Marketing Manager of a multinational brand, said that retail stores of the company remained shut in some affected areas such as Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Gulistan-e-Jauhar and Saddar while others situated in Clifton, Defence, Hyderi and Tariq Road operated as usual. UNREST 80% shops in all major markets of the city were forced to shut down on Monday evening.