Business community detests 'royal decree' to shut markets early

Govt threatened by strong protests if policy to close shops, restaurants at 8:30pm implemented

KARACHI:

Traders, restaurant owners and members of the business community on Wednesday rejected the government's plans to shut down markets at 8:30pm.

The federal cabinet had on Tuesday approved the National Energy Conservation Plan, introducing certain measures to ensure judicious utilisation of national resources, including early closure of markets and restaurants and stopping unnecessary use of electric appliances in all government offices.

In a meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the cabinet had decided to implement the Energy Conservation Plan across the country with immediate effect on the advice of the Power Division. The government had hoped the plan would ensure saving worth hundreds of billions of rupees.

Read K-P says no to Centre’s energy-saving plan

Unveiling the salient features of the austerity plan at a media briefing after the cabinet meeting, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had said that energy-saving reforms were being introduced across the country. He had urged people to change their habits in order to conserve energy.

“We need to change our lifestyle with reference to the use of energy. Our habits are different from the rest of the world. We generate our own energy, instead of natural energy, which incurs production cost,” the defence minister had told reporters.

According to the energy conservation plan, restaurants, hotels, and markets would close by 8:30pm, while wedding halls by 10pm. Besides, the production of incandescent light bulbs and inefficient electricity fans would be stopped. The government also planned to levy additional duty on inefficient electric fans.

“With this initiative [early markets closure], which has been taken in consultation with trade bodies, there will be a saving of around Rs62 billion [annually],” Asif had said. “The plan has been discussed with the business community and they agree to this initiative,” he had added.

Business community leaders Atiq Mir, Sharjeel Gopalani and Jameel Paracha in a joint press conference in Karachi today announced their resolve to resist the policy.

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Rejecting the decision to push for early market closures, Mir forwarned of "strong protests if the shops are forcibly closed".

"How is a government making decisions in the interest of people when it doesn't even have ministers?" he said taking a dig at Asif while highlighting that "the defense minister is making energy decisions".

"Why is the government not ending the privileges of the elite class?" Mir questioned as he suggested "ministers end their foreign trips" as an austerity measure.

"We had proposed [a policy] to close shops at 10pm and wedding halls at 12pm but our proposal fell on deaf ears," said Paracha. "We are being forced to protest," he added urging the government to "reconsider" its decision.

"This is our season," he explained, "the economy is on a ventilator as it is, such decisions will destroy it completely".

"Hundreds of thousands of dollars are being given away as damages for containers on the port but we are not being given any of them," Gopalani complained claiming that "instead, money is forcefully being withdrawn from importer's accounts".

"Unemployment will skyrocket if our shops are shut down," he warned stressing that "if the decision is forced upon us, then the outcome will not be good".

Restaurateurs reject plan

In a separate press conference, the All Pakistan Restaurant Joint Action Committee President Chaudhry Muhammad Farooq also expressed serious reservations over the government's proposed policies for energy conservation.

"The royal decree has placed the economy in hot waters," said Farooq as he predicted the decision to shut down markets early will "cause even more difficulties for a country already standing at the brink of default".

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"World over, restaurants are granted four hours to close if the markets are shut at 6pm," he added criticising the policy.

"Many people lost their jobs during Covid times," he furthered, stressing that "businesses have hardly begun to bounce back".

"This government is business friendly and yet it has gone two steps further than the previous one," he added as he urged the government to "be methodical" in its approach to save energy.