Traders protest encroachment
The police had given us assurances earlier but they stepped back from the commitment
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PESHAWAR:
Traders operating in Hashtnagri and Nishtarabad chose not to stay home on Sunday afternoon and instead opted to protest register against the traffic police and district administration’s encroachment drive.
They were helped by shopkeepers of Sikandarpura’s cycle market in blocking GT Road for traffic. Clouds of black smoke emanating from burning tyres could be seen from a distance. The protesters shouted slogans against the police who booked and arrested their fellow shop owners during the action.
Hashtnagri Traders Association President Rasool Khan led the demonstration. The attendees dispersed peacefully only after SP Imtiaz Khan and DSP Sajjad Khan assured the detainees will be freed soon.
“The police had given us assurances earlier but they stepped back from the commitment,” Sikandarpura Traders Association President Iftikhar Hussain said. He added 56 businessmen, including teenage boys and elders, are in police custody and have been told that they will have to spend a week behind bars and also pay hefty fines. “Militancy and price hike have already reduced business activity. Police action of this sort will only add to our miseries.
These raids are unjustified.” The association president said no one will pay any fines. “They dragged us out of our shops and treated us like criminals. Our friends were thrown into three to four police vehicles that arrived to take them away.” Hussain said all the shop owners belong to the working class and are not wealthy enough to resist government action, pay fines or the lawyers’ fee. “We urge the government to release our children and elders immediately,” said Haji Zalmai, a protester whose son has been booked.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 7th, 2015.
Traders operating in Hashtnagri and Nishtarabad chose not to stay home on Sunday afternoon and instead opted to protest register against the traffic police and district administration’s encroachment drive.
They were helped by shopkeepers of Sikandarpura’s cycle market in blocking GT Road for traffic. Clouds of black smoke emanating from burning tyres could be seen from a distance. The protesters shouted slogans against the police who booked and arrested their fellow shop owners during the action.
Hashtnagri Traders Association President Rasool Khan led the demonstration. The attendees dispersed peacefully only after SP Imtiaz Khan and DSP Sajjad Khan assured the detainees will be freed soon.
“The police had given us assurances earlier but they stepped back from the commitment,” Sikandarpura Traders Association President Iftikhar Hussain said. He added 56 businessmen, including teenage boys and elders, are in police custody and have been told that they will have to spend a week behind bars and also pay hefty fines. “Militancy and price hike have already reduced business activity. Police action of this sort will only add to our miseries.
These raids are unjustified.” The association president said no one will pay any fines. “They dragged us out of our shops and treated us like criminals. Our friends were thrown into three to four police vehicles that arrived to take them away.” Hussain said all the shop owners belong to the working class and are not wealthy enough to resist government action, pay fines or the lawyers’ fee. “We urge the government to release our children and elders immediately,” said Haji Zalmai, a protester whose son has been booked.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 7th, 2015.