Street vendors not encroachments, says commissioner

Stresses need to regularise street vendors and give them opportunity to contribute to the economy

KARACHI: Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Shallwani has said that he believes street stalls are not encroachments, but a legal business. He added that the law permits to operate the business with formal permission.

The commissioner was speaking as the chief guest at a seminar, titled ‘Street Vendor Project’, organised by Islamabad-based research institute, PRIME, in collaboration with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, National Youth Assembly and lawyer, Ahmed Bashir, in Karachi.

The seminar was attended by economists from various Karachi-based varsities, scholars, representatives of NGOs and members of a working group formed by PRIME to get feedback from multiple stakeholders on a draft legislative bill for the protection of street vendors’ rights and articulating the public space usage.

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The commissioner said that the government has no intention of imposing a ban on street vendors. Rather, he said, the government believes that it provides low-income groups the avenue to make a living and also contributes to the economy. He added, however, that street vendors must be regulated and registered.

Giving the example of foreign countries, he said that street vendors are allowed to run their businesses but they must be registered with the competent authority. It is mandatory for them to display their registration numbers on their carts, he said.

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Beenish Javed, a research associate at PRIME, shed light on the economic significance of the vending community, the challenges facing their livelihoods and the need to regulate and protect their vending rights.

Lawyer Ahmed Bashir presented the draft legislative bill on urban street vendors which focuses on regulating and protecting the rights of vendors.