Traders could go to jail for keeping ‘stocks’

ICCI president says many things in the Prevention of Hoarding Ordinance are unclear

ISLAMABAD: The traders in a meeting at Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) have shown great concerns against the Covid-19 (Prevention of Hoarding) Ordinance 2020 and called upon the government to address their all reservations before enforcing the said ordinance in the federal capital.

Chairing the meeting, ICCI President Muhammad Ahmad said that many things in the Prevention of Hoarding Ordinance were not clear due to which there was a great confusion in the traders.

He raised the question whether the traders of Islamabad only were the hoarders keeping in view the fact that the federal capital was not a business city.

All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran President Ajmal Baloch said that bureaucracy has introduced a new ordinance against hoarding only for Islamabad and that too was done without any consultation with trading community.

He said that ordinance stipulated three years imprisonment for keeping stock, but no clear definition of stock was provided due to which trading community have lot of concerns against this ordinance.

He said that every trader has to keep stock for supply and without defining the nature of stock the traders would not be able to conduct business in the presence of this ordinance.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 19^th, 2020.