Atrocities against the traders have escalated at the extreme level but the government has failed to ensure traders’ protection. Henceforth, the traders had been left with no other choice except to convert nook and cranny of the city into Tahreer Square in condemnation against extortion, target killing and ever-escalating load shedding. Small Traders Organisation Karachi President Mehmood Hamid said this while addressing a protest sit-in at Nazimabad. Small Printing Press Association President Zahid Hussain, Zubair Ansari and Syed Jalil Ahmed also addressed. Hamid said at one hand the traders were left at the mercy of the target killers, kidnappers for ransom and extortionists while on the other hand, the KESC had smashed their remaining trade and economic activities through prolonged load shedding. The traders warn the KESC to stop blackmailing the traders or else the traders would take to street in a way that the KESC’s foreign owners would be surrounded and forced to leave the country.
He said the load shedding in Nazimabad had reached 18 hours due to which the trade and economic activities had been completely ended. More than 100,000 workers of the printing press section of trade had been compelled to starve out as the owners of the printing presses had failed to earn enough to look after their workers’ needs. The prevailing situation would lead to unprecedented rise in unemployment, he claimed. Zahid Hussain said that Karachi’s traders were deliberately targeted and their businesses were willfully destroyed but the traders would never allow the conspirators to succeed in their vested designs against the traders of the city. Jalil Ahmed said that the government and the KESC should learn that the traders had now awakened and united against their plans for destroying the trade and economic activities in the city.
Woman among two killed
KARACHI: At least two people including a woman were killed in different incidents of violence in the city on Friday. Malir Cantonment police said a tortured body of a woman was found from bushes. The police said that she was kidnapped and then killed. In a separate incident, a man killed his younger brother and surrendered himself to police. According to the Boat Basin police, Munawar killed his brother Ishaq Masih by hitting him with an axe over domestic issues in Neelum Cony, Clifton. Ishaq was father of five. His body was taken to Jinnah Hospital. On the other hand, two people were injured in a firing incident near Khyber Chowk, Ittehad Town. NNI
Lest it should become ‘Tahreer Square’
