The procession started from Green Chowk and proceeded towards the Peshawar Press Club, blocking roads on the way. PHOTO: EXPRESS
Led by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Traders Association President Azizur Rehman, scores of demonstrators carried placards and banners inscribed with their demands, chanting slogans against the cantonment board. They also asked the Peshawar High Court (PHC) to take notice of the violation of court orders.
According to the Cantonment Board, 29 shops situated on Fakhr-e-Alam Road, Peshawar Cantt are several years old. The board wishes to erect a plaza in their place. However, traders who occupy the area and pay monthly rent for the shops refuse to vacate their businesses, claiming they had been associated with the area for several decades.
The traders also filed writ petitions at the PHC, which issued a stay order against any action till June 5. However, last Sunday, locks of the 29 shops were broken and goods were taken out in violation of court orders. Many traders even alleged the authorities had taken valuables and goods from their shops after breaking the locks.
After the three-day long sit-in conducted by traders’ union organisations in Saddar, a protest was held. The procession started from Green Chowk and proceeded towards the Peshawar Press Club, blocking roads on the way.
Azizur Rehman urged the PHC to take notice of the violation of court orders by cantonment board officials. “We just want authorities to accommodate traders – whose shops are to be destroyed – in the new plaza,” said Aziz while addressing the protesters.
“To lock the traders’ shops is to prevent them from earning their livelihood,” said Haleem Khan, a shopkeeper. Khan added many like him were passing through difficult times as trading activities had come to a standstill. “It was in open violation of the high court’s orders.”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 31st, 2013.
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