Traders fear return to 2011 situation

Army intervention was needed before to control law and order situation.


Farhan Zaheer March 17, 2012
Traders fear return to 2011 situation

KARACHI:


The business community has warned that extortion cases have once again started spiralling out of control and if the government does not take action, the situation may worsen like last year’s chaos.


The situation in 2011 slipped out of the control of the government and the army had to intervene to contain the rising extortion cases and deteriorating law and order situation.

Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Mian Abrar Ahmed said that the chamber has supported all the steps taken by traders to protests against the rising trend of extortion.

Ahmed also said that the government is not paying any heed to our requests to improve law and order. There were some industries that were shut down on Saturday owing to gas load shedding, while few also supported the strike call.

“The problem needs to be contained now otherwise, it may slip from the hands of the government like last year’s havoc in which eventually army chief had to intervene and order rangers to control law and order in the city,” Bin Qasim Association of Trade and Industry patron in-chief Mian Muhammad Ahmed said.

More than 300 people were killed in July 2011 because of violence in the country’s main commercial hub that lasted for at least three months.

“We gave the strike call because extortion has become the single biggest concern of the businesses operating in the financial hub of the country,” said All Karachi Tajir Ittehad Chairman Atiq Mir.

The government unfortunately does not have the technology to detect mobile phones or SIM cards that extortionists use for threats, Mir added.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18th, 2012.

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