Business activities: Strike call receives mixed response

Major trading centres remain closed while industries run as usual.

KARACHI:

The strike, called by religious parties on Friday, did not affect industrial activities in Karachi but major trading centres remained closed.

The country-wide strike call was given in protest against the conviction of Mumtaz Qadri, an elite force guard who killed Punjab governor Salman Taseer in January 2011.

The strike did not affect industrial activities much, though attendance was low in some factories as people could not reach their workplaces owing to thin public transport – a common feature during strikes in Karachi.

North Karachi Association of Trade and Industry Chairman Abdul Rasheed said that worker presence was around 95% despite difficult and tense conditions and low public transport.

“Owing to tough financial conditions, workers try their best to reach factories even during strikes,” he said, adding “daily-wage earners especially reach industries even if they have to walk for hours in absence of public transport.”

Ehtesham Uddin, Chairman of Korangi Association of Trade and Industry, a zone that houses over 4,000 industries, said that Korangi industrial area remained unaffected and workers easily reached factories in most cases.

SITE Association of Trade and Industry Chairman Muhammad Irfan Moton said that there had not been much difference in worker attendance, but in some industries, 5 to 25 per cent production was impacted.

However, shops in old city areas like Jodia Bazaar and those near Merewether Tower – a highly congested cluster of wholesale and retail markets near Karachi’s seaport – were completely closed, said Atiq Mir, Chairman of All Karachi Tajir Ittehad.

He said high-end markets in Clifton and Defence like Zamzama remained open on Friday while important shopping centres like Tariq Road opened after 3-4pm.

“It was difficult for us to resist public pressure,” said a top trader, who requested not to be named. “We feared a revolt among our top circles. After sensing extreme feelings in favour of Qadri, we decided to shut down our shops,” he stated.

Another reason why people closed their business was the threat from political and religious parties as traders could not risk their lives at a time when law and order situation was volatile, he added.

Traders Action Committee Chairman Siddiq Memon said that 90% of shops of the city opened after 3pm. “This time in the wake of the strike call, we decided to open shops at 3pm,” he said. Markets like Tariq Road, Saddar, KDA and Bahadurabad were closed until 3pm, he added.

From now on, Memon said, traders have decided not to support any religious or political strikes because of low economic activity in the city.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 8^th, 2011.