The Sindh government on Sunday relaxed early market closure timings and suspended all notifications pertaining to operational hours of businesses "in the public interest" for a week.
The amended notification was enforced with immediate effect, allowing businesses and market to operate late at night till July 10 in view of Eidul Azha.
The timings have been eased to facilitate the traders and the public, the notification issued by the provincial government said and added that the restrictions will be re-enforced from July 11.
"In view of Eidul Azha, the Government of Sindh is pleased to suspend the operation of this department notifications […] regarding imposing restrictions on closing hours of various shops, restaurants, wedding halls, etc in the territorial jurisdiction of Sindh province with immediate effect," the notification read
The decision came a day after the Punjab government its loosened its restrictions concerning the closure of markets at 9pm, allowing traders and shopkeepers to avail the relaxation till July 9, the eve of Eidul Azha.
The Punjab Government had on Saturday announced the "big news" on its official Twitter handle.
Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee Chairman Maulana Abdul Khabeer Azad had earlier this week announced that the Zilhaj moon was not sighted and Eidul Azha will fall on July 10 (Sunday).
Addressing a press conference in Karachi, he said: "No testimony of the moon being sighted was received from any part of Pakistan."
Therefore, it was decided with a unanimous consensus that Eidul Azha would be celebrated on July 10.
The Sindh government had ordered to close all markets, shops, and shopping malls in the province by 9pm, even in the commercial hub of Karachi, whereas wedding halls were to be shut by 10:30pm and hotels, restaurants, coffee shops and cafes by 11pm.
The provincial government had stated that the measures were being taken in light of the country's energy crisis.
The crisis, it added, had prompted the Sindh government to invoke sections of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Act, 2010 and issue an order to reduce operational hours of shops and restaurants.
However, shops in many areas continue to flout the early closure orders and stay open till late in the night.
Moreover, representative bodies of traders say that they had agreed to early closure, subject to end of load-shedding.
As per traders of Rex Shopping Centre, a major retail hub for leather goods, whether they close early or not, power outages continue.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 4th, 2022.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ