ISLAMABAD : The All Pakistan Traders Association has announced a nationwide protest and strike on May 14, demanding an end to forced shop closures and the withdrawal of a directive that requires markets to shut by 8pm.
Addressing a news conference in Islamabad, association president Ajmal Baloch said the government must allow markets to remain open until 10pm and hotels to operate throughout the night. “If our demands are not met, there will be a nationwide strike and protest on May 14,” he warned.
Baloch said farmers, industrialists and traders have been facing severe problems for the past four years. “First, wheat and vegetable farmers were ruined. Now factories are closing every day,” he told reporters.
He sharply criticized the federal administration, accusing it of imposing strict Punjab laws in Islamabad. “Traders are being punished for no reason,” Baloch said, while contrasting the federal approach with that of the Sindh government, which he described as commendable in its willingness to hold consultations.
The traders’ leader demanded an immediate halt to what he called the harassment of jewellers and other shopkeepers under the pretext of tax collection. He also insisted that the 8pm market closure order be withdrawn at once.
Business leaders at the news conference added that electricity priced at Rs. 160 per unit during peak hours, combined with administrative intimidation, had destroyed commercial activity. They made it clear that no further lockdowns would be accepted.
Baloch praised the Sindh government’s consultative attitude but warned that continued tough measures elsewhere would trigger a full-scale protest shutdown across the country on May 14.
