Law and order worsens: Sindh traders warn of indefinite strike against ‘missing’ govt

Claim extortion demands have become worse.

KARACHI:

The association of Sindh traders has warned of an indefinite strike in the city if the government, which they claim is missing, fails to fix the law and order in Karachi.

Sindh Tajir Ittehad, a representative body of businessmen in the city, made this announcement at a rally outside the press club on Tuesday. If the government does not take strict action against the ongoing target killings, extortion demands and kidnapping of traders, the traders will go on strike.

The association has also distributed an advertisement of the ‘missing’ Sindh government that have been issued in the city and will also be displayed on banners in markets. The traders hold the provincial government responsible for the insurgency and the law and order situation in the city and have appealed the federal government to immediately take notice. They have also appealed to the Pakistan Army to take necessary steps and bring peace in the city.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Sindh Tajir Ittehad chairperson Jamil Ahmed Paracha said that their protest movement will continue till the restoration of peace and security for every trader in the city. “We will surround the Sindh Assembly building during their upcoming meeting,” he said. “If we do not get our demands fulfilled, then we will go on strike from Karachi to Khyber,” he added.

This strike will go on for an indefinite period so that the federal government is made aware of the consequences of leaving Karachi at the mercy of extortionists and militants, Paracha warned.

Extortionists have made the lives of traders miserable and now the issue has entered into the houses of traders, he said.

“If the army can be called to clean drainage lines, conduct elections and rehabilitate earthquake survivors, then why not to control the bloodshed in Karachi?”

Paracha said they have been searching for the government for the last five years to restore peace in the city and every time the traders are deceived.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 28^th, 2013.