Traders and transporters announced on Saturday that they would observe a day of mourning on today (Sunday) on the call of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain to grieve the death of former MQM Member Provincial Assembly Liaquat Ali Qureshi who was gunned down in an incident of targeted killing at the Abul Hassan Ispahani Road on Friday.
The traders and transporters apparently do not have a problem with the MQM chief’s call for observing a day of mourning because most of them usually do not work on Sundays anyway, so keeping their business closed and their vehicles off the roads would not cause them any financial losses.
The MQM chief has appealed the traders, shopkeepers and transporters to observe a day of mourning today, to which they have agreed.
All Karachi Tajir Ittehad President Atiq Mir told Pakistan Today that the markets in the metropolis usually remain closed on Sunday.
He said that closing the markets on the call of the MQM chief would not cause losses to the exchequer.
The traders would support the MQM’s call for observing a day of mourning and the markets would remain closed, he added.
Karachi Transport Ittehad President Irshad Ali Bukhari told Pakistan Today that transport on Sundays usually remains thin on the roads.
He said that the MQM chief has appealed the transporters to observe a day of mourning, and that there was no indication of a strike in his statement.
The transporters would decide later whether or not they would take all transport off the roads, but as far as observing a day of mourning goes, they would observe it, he added.
However, uncertainty prevailed in the city after the MQM chief’s appeal of observing a day of mourning.
Shopkeepers of small markets, which usually remain open all day, were uncertain if they would be allowed to open their shops.
There were also some reports about unidentified men asking shopkeepers to close down their shops today for observing a day of mourning.
Moreover, MQM activists and supporters were seen hoisting black flags on the rooftops of their houses and buildings to grieve the death of their party leader.
