Sindh relaxes pandemic SOPs

Market timings extended till 8pm; Fridays no longer off

Just days after the Sindh government imposed a new set of lockdown restrictions in the province, it has begun to relax the curbs, even as the second wave of the pandemic shows little signs of abating.

Sindh government spokesperson Murtaza Wahab took to Twitter on Thursday to announce that shop timings in Sindh had been increased by two hours, allowing traders to continue business until 8pm. Besides, the Sindh government also lifted its orders to keep shops, markets and shopping centres closed on Fridays.

The provincial government had restricted trading hours from 6am to 6pm and ordered markets shut - with the exception of essential services - on Fridays and Sundays, in a notification issued late on Monday night, much to the chagrin of traders and shopkeepers.

However, amid increasing criticism from traders and different political factions, Wahab tweeted: "This is to inform that markets in Sindh will remain open till 8pm. It is again expected from market associations, shop owners and citizens that due regard to SOPs [standard operating procedures] shall be observed and everyone, including shopkeeper[s] and visitor[s], shall wear mask[s]."

A short while later, the Sindh government also revoked the order restricting commercial activities on Fridays.

'Harassed and blackmailed'

Earlier in the day, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui dubbed the new lockdown restrictions, particularly limiting market timings, a means to "harass" and "blackmail" Karachi's traders, warning of a protest against the Sindh government.

Talking to the media, he said the Sindh government's lockdown strategy was "clearly against Karachi's business community," claiming that a conspiracy was being hatched to "jeopardise Karachi and dismember Pakistan."

Calling for the Centre to address the issue immediately, he accused the Sindh government of "harassing" the business community under the guise of a lockdown. "The business community and others are being blackmailed through a lockdown, which is only imposed in Karachi while business continues as usual in the rest of Sindh."

Along similar lines, former mayor Wasim Akhtar said, "Karachi's traders generate the bulk of Sindh's revenue but the provincial government seems to be working against them."

Admitting that the Sindh government needed to take effective measures for curbing the spread of the coronavirus, he maintained a lockdown was not the solution.

Also speaking on the occasion, All Karachi Tajir Ittehad chairperson Atiq Mir lamented that once again the business community had been disturbed and was left alone in difficult circumstances. "Traders are being forced to take to the streets with the government limiting business hours under the guise of the coronavirus."

Rebuttal

Responding to MQM-P, Sindh Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah said the Sindh government had always respected traders and allowed them to work without fear.

"Don't threaten us with a protest," he remarked, adding that they would not allow the MQM-P to hold the city hostage again.

He maintained that the Sindh government had been taking steps to protect people against the coronavirus and providing relief to traders.

'Change habits'

Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry president M Shariq Vohra, on the other hand, urged small traders and shopkeepers to change their habits in compliance with the new lockdown instructions, instead of demanding that work hours be extended.

"It is high time to change the habit of opening business late… in order to save our countrymen from the lethal coronavirus," he said while meeting a delegation from the Alliance of Arambagh Market Association (AAMA).

AAMA chairperson Asif Gulfam, however, insisted that business hours be extended so that losses could be minimised. "Instead of ordering the early closure of shops, the government needs to come up with a strategy to compel masses to follow the SOPs," he stressed, adding that extending business hours "was the best solution to addressing the problem of overcrowded markets."

Published in The Express Tribune, November 27^th, 2020.