PTI causes Rs 15b losses, claim Karachi traders

Karachi traders say they were forced to shut down markets because there were no consumers as roads were blocked by PTI protesters

Karachi traders and businessmen Friday flayed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), alleging that the party resorted to a “new form of forced closure” by blocking roads thereby causing losses to the tune of Rs 15 million to trade and industry in Pakistan’s industrial hub.

Traders flayed PTI Chairman Imran Khan for forcing the shutdown of business by blocking roads, adding that they did not voluntarily close markets.

According to details, some traders opened markets but could not usher in any buyers as PTI workers had blocked the city’s major roads.

“Imran Khan’s strike call is condemnable,” said All Karachi Tajir Ittehad (AKTI) Chairman Atiq Mir.

He said that PTI blocked all roads leading to main business and commercial areas.

“We did not close markets voluntarily but in compulsion as traders and employees could not reach for want of passage,” he said.

The AKTI chief said the PTI leader should have excluded Karachi from his Plan C aimed at protesting polls rigging in Punjab.

“The PTI’s forced strike inflicted at least Rs 15-20 billion loss on the economy,” he estimated.

“The strike deprived at least 2.5 million daily wagers of their livelihood,” said the AKTI chairman.

PTI leader Khan, he said, must refrain from politics which hamper the socio-economic development of the country.

“Traders did not like his strike call,” said Mir and added that the city had just got rid of strikes during recent months.

“A group had warned all traders in old city area with bomb attacks if they opened their shops during PTI’s strike,” claimed All Karachi Jewellers Group President Haji Haroon Chand.

He said traders had not volunteered to shut their shops during any party’s strike as it had not been financially viable.

“Whose interest is Khan serving by staging strikes across the country?” he asked.

Operations at the country’s largest seaport remained baldly affected during the day-long strike, officials reportedly said, adding that the cargo supplies could not reach the port as PTI activists had blocked roads.

“Many port employees and workers could not make it to work,” they said.

The PTI activists had blocked Native Jetty (Jinnah Bridge) to cut off the port from the rest of the country with a view to scale down seaport operations, the officials alleged.

“Port operations remained almost idle till the strike lasted,” the port officials said.

A fish trader Fazal Akbar said the strike, however, failed to reduce trading activities at the fisheries harbour. Main seafood supplies are provided through sea and not roads, he reasoned.